Kingdom Keepers
by Queen Micky
Summary: A girl mysteriously shows up on the islands. The trio ask for help from the King. Will the King help them? Who is this girl and why is she here? And most importantly, who are the Kingdom Keepers? Read to find out. I do not own anything from Kingdom Heart.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Riku, do you know who she is?" asked the spiky haired brunet with dark blue eyes.

"No Sora, I've never seen her before," Riku, a hot teen with gorgeous silver hair and aquamarine eyes, replied.

"Mabey King Mickey will know," said a dark redheaded girl with violet eyes.

"That's a good idea Kairi," Sora remarked.

"I'll write a letter to him tonight and send it to him tomorrow," declared Riku.

"Great, she can stay at Kairi's house till she wakes up," stated Sora.

They all agreed to this and started to get ready to head home. Riku picked up the unconscious girl and carried her to his boat. They all paddled back to the mainland from the small islet they played on. They got to the shore, and Riku carried her to Kairi's house which wasn't to far from the beach. Riku and Sora then headed back home. They walked till they got to the fork in the road and went their separate ways.

Riku started on his letter as soon as he got home. It took him awhile to explain everything and describe the girl, but he finally finished. He decided it was still early enough to send his letter and make it home in time for super. He went down to the beach, found a good bottle, threw it out into the ocean, and hoped that it would reach it's destination.

It said:

Dear Mickey,

Sora, Kairi, and I were out on the islet today when a girl fell from the sky. I thought she was going to die because she was headed strait for the beach. She somehow slowed herself down though,but then she collapsed. She was still breathing, just unconscious. That was a relief. None of us knew her and we thought you might. She has long dark brown hair and a pale complexion. She looks to be healthy and in good shape. She has scars on most of her body as if she has fought before. I can tell you this because she was wearing a strange golden outfit. It almost looked like a bikini except that it had cloth covering her belly and some coming down to cover in front of and behind her legs. She had a bracelet on her left wrist and one on her right ankle. They were both identical, a simple gold chain with a single heart charm. She also had on a necklace that matched. I get the feeling that she won't wake up until a certain event happens. If you could help in any way that would be great.

Thanks,

Riku

* * *

Author's Note: I decided to try and write a fanfiction. I don't know if anyone will like it so please review and let me know or I'll stop writing this.


	2. Chapter 1: Kingdom Hearts Inc

Chapter 1: Kingdom Hearts Inc.

"Mrs. Pensingtun, I found another bottled letter," shouted a worker with short hair that was died black with pink tips. She had on an outfit like the one in the letter except that this one was black.

"You know what to do, you've been doing this for _three years_ Rachel," retorted Mrs. Pensingtun, the old lady that was the head of all the workers. She was you average grandmother type old women who wore a golden silk robe.

"But it's addressed to _King Mickey_ from _Riku_," replied the headstrong teenager.

"Then send it to him, I'm sure he'll want it," Mrs. Pensingtun cried, getting annoyed with the conversation. She could see where this was going. It was just another one of those strategies that the workers had come up with to get her to tell them where she had sent Isabella. Isabella was the top Kingdom Keeper and right now she was needed on Destiny Island. The old woman did not want to worry them, so she kept her mouth shut.

"Mrs. Pensington, are you listening." She finally heard the young girl after the third time. "I said that this letter seems to be about Isa."

Now she had finally sparked some interest. The woman took the letter and read it. The girl was right. It was about Isabella. _'I hadn't expected her to get there so quick, but why is she unconscious? That's not right. Perhaps I should take the letter to Mickey myself and explain the situation. I should have him report there. That's probably the best decision, but first I need to figure out why that girl is unconscious. This is not good.'_

"...but I was wondering why Riku would be writing about Isa." Rachel was saying.

"What? Oh don't worry about it honey. There are tribes out there who wear clothes just like ours. One of them probably wound up on the islands by accident. I'll take this letter and give it to Mickey myself. That way you don't have to worry about it. Okay." said the woman with a deceiving smile.

"Okay, I'll get back to work," said the unbelieving youth.

"Good, and thank you for letting me know about this," she replied while leaving.

* * *

Rachel, or Rach as her friends liked to call her, got back to work. She didn't work in the field because she was a terrible fighter. So instead she did work around Kingdom Hearts. Most of the time she cleaned, but she did some other things as well. One of them was receive letters and take them to whomever they were addressed to. It was normal for letters like this to say weird and unusual things, but this was different.

Isabella,or Isa which she was known only by the certain few she allowed to call her that, was Rach's best friend. They were like sisters. Isa was the first one to except Rach as a Kingdom Keeper. Rach knew that she had been sent on a mission, but why was she on Destiny Island? The Keyblade Master and another keyblade wielder was there along with one of the princesses of heart. That was more than enough to protect it. Also why was she unconscious? _'None of this makes sense. She's the strongest one here and she has made it to further destinations without becoming unconscious. Something must be wrong.'_

Rach decided not to pry, that way maybe she could find out more on her own. She also decided, however, that she would tell Rojer, Isa's older brother. He would want to know and could help her. Finding information was his specialty.

Rojer was probably the second strongest and hottest guy there,and the one that Rach had had a crush on since Isa introduced them three years ago. The first strongest was Nathan. A headstrong 17 year old who would jump on a girl if they let him. His girlfriend, Natasha, used to be a prostitute. Why she got a job there, nobody knew.

Most of the workers there were teens and adults in their early 20's. The reason for this was that they had more stamina and energy. The older ones were the Kingdom Leaders. They kept order and made the rules. They wore silver silk robes like Mrs. Pensingtun's.

Colors indicated their ranks. Black was worn by the lowest. It meant that you did the work that would otherwise not get done. White was worn by messengers. Silver was worn by second rank fighters, and gold was worn by first rank fighters. Leaders wore silver robes, and the Instructor wore a gold one.

Rach, 15, Isa, 16, and Rojer, 18, stayed together for the most part. Rach and Rojer were comforters to Isa's pain. She had had a lot of bad experiences in her life, and she needed them. However, recently it had seemed like they were not enough. Everybody worried about her. She never showed that there was anything wrong, but inside there was a train wreck of hurt and bad emotions. Yes she had some good times but they were getting to be less and less every day.

"Worried about Isabella, Rachel," said a tall blond boy that was wearing a golden boys uniform of shorts and a vest, bringing her out of a daze.

"Shut up Nathan. You've been infatuated with her since the day you got here so don't start." It was true to. Isa wasn't only the strongest but also the sexiest girl there. Apparently it ran in the family. Isa didn't return the feelings though, so he went with the second best.

"What do you know? I've been in love with Natasha for a year now," he objected.

"More like in love her body and how good she is in bed," she said quietly to herself. Unfortunately not quiet enough.

"What was that b-. Take it back, NOW!" He looked like he was about to burst.

"And what if I don't," she countered.

"I'll kick your a-," he fumed.

"Nobodies going to kick anyone's butt today, got that Nathan," said a dark-headed boy behind him also wearing a gold uniform.

"Stay out of this Rojer," he responded angrily while turning around.

"NO. You think just because you're the top guy you can push everybody around. Also, didn't Mrs. P tell you she'd wash your mouth out if you didn't clean it up," he stated mater of factly.

"Didn't she say the same about you for calling her that." he retaliated.

"Wow, I thought you could come up with something better than that Nathan." he topped.

"I can. Yo momma..."

"NATHAN," came an earsplitting yell from the hallway.

"Your being called by your master," Rojer said before howling in laughter joined by Rach.

"I'm not a dog," Nathan interjected.

"There you are, what are you doing in here," asked a girl with blazing red hair that was down to her shoulders. She was breathing like she had just run a marathon. She had on a white uniform.

"I thought I'd come help Rachel with her chores," he said sarcastically. "What does it look like I'm doing, Natasha?" he shouted at her.

"We don't have time for this. Now come on or else we'll be late," she stated exasperatedly.

"First, I came here to ask if there's been any news about Isabella," said Nathan.

"I thought you said you loved _her_," replied Rach while pointing a finger at Natasha. He was about to counter when she replied, "Nope not a single thing about Isabella. Happy!"

"Fine let's go." He left with a confused Natasha at his side.

Rojer was about to leave when Rach called to him to stay.

"What is it Rach," he asked curiously.

She paused before saying, "It's about Isa."

At this Rojer raised his eyebrows, "What?" he said expecting one of her sad stories on how much she missed her.

She then replied, "I lied earlier. A letter came for the King from Riku. He described someone exactly like her."

All he said was, "WHAT?"

* * *

Author's Note: I really hope everybody enjoys this. And just so you know the jewelry is included with the uniform, colors and all. Sorry if this chapter was a little confusing but it gets better so keep reading.


	3. Chapter 2: The Explanation

Chapter 2: The Explanation

Mickey was in the library when Mrs. Pensingtun showed up. He was a bit startled and wondered why she would be there unless something was wrong. Was something wrong? He certainly hoped not. He just got back home and was hoping to stay there for a while.

"Mrs. Pensingtun. What do I owe you this pleasant meeting?" he asked her sincerely.

"I'm afraid this meeting isn't all that pleasant Your Majesty," she replied gravely. She didn't want to ruin his homecoming so soon, but she knew this was important.

"I've told you that you can call me Mickey before."

"I'm sorry, I normally do. I'm just so nervous." She couldn't remember the last time she was this nervous. _'Oh well, here goes nothing.'_ "Your Maj... I mean Mickey, I sent Isabella to Destiny Island the other day. You remember her don't you."

"Oh, yes. She's the one you brought here a few years back for me to help, right."

"Yes. Well, she got there and unfortunately is unconscious. Riku wrote this letter for you that will explain a little about it." She handed him the letter, and he read over it.

"Hmmm. That is strange. Disney Castle is farther and she didn't seem to mind the travel at all. Do you know what happened?"

She sighed as she answered his question, "No, I tried to figure it out before I left, but I can't come up with any sort of answer."

"This isn't good," he said while scratching his ear. "What do you plan on doing?"

"I was hoping you would report there and maybe try to help."

"Of course I'll go. I was planing on visiting soon anyway, but you haven't told me why you sent her."

"You know her father, Namoi, right."

"Yes, he's the reason she needed help." Mickey sounded like he was starting to get mad.

"You know he wants to destroy a vast amount of the universe."

"Yes, he started with Isa when he took control of her and made her destroy their world."

"Well, he's going to try again, only this time he's got his eyes set on Riku."

Mickey went into sudden panic mode. It was his job to protect the universe, and in the time he had spent with Riku, they had become good friends. _'Riku has a good control over himself, but is it enough to stop Namoi? He just finally got rid of the darkness bothering him; I would hate for him to have to go through that again. Namoi is so much stronger than what Xehanort was. I guess that's where Isa comes in. She has a good hold on..._

"Mickey, _Mickey,_ MICKEY!" Mrs. Pensingtun finally broke through his thoughts.

"Sorry," he said calming down a bit.

"I was trying to say that you should probably take Donald and Goofy with you. Not only will it cheer up Sora, Kairi, and Riku, their skills may also be needed. Especially if Isabella doesn't wake up."

"Yes, that's a good idea. Thank you. When should we leave."

"As soon as possible. Oh, and one more thing... I was wandering..." she seemed to be having problems asking her question, "does Isabella let you call her Isa."

"Yes. Why? Does she not let you?"

The old woman sighed. "No I haven't made it on her list of likable yet."

This made Mickey furrow his brow and scratch his ear again. "I thought for sure you were one of the first she had let call her that."

"Apparently not. I'll just have to keep working at it and maybe someday I'll figure out what I'm doing wrong."

"Maybe." Mickey always thought himself lucky to call Isa that, but now even more so since he new Mrs. Pensingtun couldn't.

"Until next time then, my old friend?" she said seeing if their conversation was over.

"Until next time." He waved goodbye as she left in her fashion of flying through the roof, out to space, and on till she reached home.

_'That's something that would be nice to know. No more dealing with technical problems in the gummi ship, not have to worry about gates to connect the worlds, and flying through space with nothing surrounding you but stars. How peaceful.'_ He thought before whistling for his faithful yellow dog.

"Pluto could you go get Donald and Goofy and bring them here?" Pluto barked in obedience before running off.

While he was waiting he thought out loud to himself, "So much to do and so little time. We need to prepare fast. I wonder if Chip and Dale have that new gummi ship ready. Oh, Minnie is going to be so mad at me, not to mention Daisey when she finds out that I'm taking Donald, and before there anniversary date, too. I guess it just comes with being king."

"Your Majesty, you called?" Donald and Goofy said in unison while entering the room.

"Yes boys, I'm afraid we have yet another mission to attend to."

* * *

Author's Note: I would like to thank **xxxChaoticHarmonyxxx** for the helpful reviews. I also want to thank everyone who has read and faved so far. I hope to update again real soon but you know how things work. Sometimes it just takes a while. I thought I'd help with the pronunciation of Namoi. You pronounce it like Nu-mow-e. Reviews are always welcome.


	4. Chapter 3: Getting Ready

Chapter 3: Getting Ready

"Riku, it's been a week, the girl isn't awake yet, and we haven't heard from King Mickey, yet you're still so calm. Either you don't care or something is bothering you," Sora told his older friend while they were eating at Kairi's house.

" Sora, for the last time, nothing is bothering me," Riku replied as Kairi walked in with the only thing she could actually cook, her amazing heart shaped sugar cookies with pink icing and heart shaped sprinkles.

The girl retaliated against him, "Something has to be bothering you because you've been here every day for at least an hour to check on her for the past week. You have to care about her."

It was true to. Since the girl had arrived last week, the first thing Riku thought of in the morning was her. So, after eating breakfast and doing all his chores, he'd head over to Kairi's to check up on her. Every day nothing changed. He went in, asked Kairi if the girl had woken up, she would say no, and then, he'd sit there for an hour or two just staring at her and wishing that he knew what was going on. Today was surprisingly different though. When he knocked on the door he was welcomed by Sora's goofy smile that always seemed to be there no matter what the situation was.

They decided that they should discus what had happened over the past week. They went into the living room and sat down in their usual spots. Sora and Kairi on the love seat with Riku in the recliner to the left of it. They hadn't expected to talk long, but before they knew it, it was time for lunch. No one had to look at the clock because Sora's stomach announced that it was time to eat. Kairi's mom was always prepared though. She cooked some of her famous homemade pizza, the boy's favorite for whenever they came over.

Riku sighed as he thought, _'You can't get anything past those two can you. Should I tell them about the dreams. No, that would just give them something else to worry about. I need to tell them something or they'll figure it out on their own.'_

"Well, I think she came here for a reason." Riku knew that for a fact, but he figured it would get them off his back for a little while at least.

"What do you mean Riku?" Sora asked confused. Although, that didn't usually take much to do.

"She has all those scares and she was sort of flying when she got here."

"So, why should that mean that she came here on purpose. I mean why would she get here, then fall out cold, if she had a reason to be here," Sora countered.

_'He has a point, but I know that's not true.'_ he thought before saying, "I know she had motives to come here."

"Really, and just how do you know that. Has she been talking to you in your sleep?" he guessed right on the dot.

Riku was shocked but hid his true emotions, "No, it's just this gut feeling I had."

"So your saying that she purposely came here based on a gut feeling? Wow Riku, the darkness must have really gotten to you," Sora said angering the older teen a little and getting a good slap on the back of the head from his girlfriend. "Ow, what was that for?"

"Sora, I told you not to say stuff like that. It's still a soft subject for him," Kairi lectured while pointing a finger at him.

"Oh, sorry," Sora said while putting on a pouty face that made the other two laugh.

"It's okay, Sora. I just... still haven't gotten over it yet," Riku said saddened.

To change the subject, Kairi half jokingly said, "Now that that's settled, don't think that just because we haven't mentioned the letter again doesn't mean that we aren't still mad at you, Riku."

"I said I was sorry, and I told you exactly what I wrote," Riku defended himself. "Plus I knew it would get there faster that way."

"Not to much faster. You could have waited."

"What will it take for you to forgive me?" Riku pleaded.

"How 'bout a cookout at your house," Sora piped in joining the conversation for the first time.

Kairi remembered one of the reasons why she loved him so much. " That's a great idea."

"Okay, how bout tonight at five o'clock?" Riku suggested knowing they would want it to be as soon as possible.

"Sounds great," they answered in unison.

* * *

Riku loved to cook. It was one of the things that brought him peace, and that was something he needed a lot more lately. His parents had been enjoying the suppers that he had been making for them since he got back. Everyone else seemed to enjoy it to.

When he got home he wrote a list of what to make and everything he would need. Then he made sure he had everything. There were a few things missing from his list though. He grabbed the keys to his black 69 Chevelle SS and yelled to his mom that he was going to town before heading out the door.

He got to the store and was surprised to see an orange headed teen walking towards him. _'Wasn't Wakka's shift supposed to be over an hour ago?'_

"Hey, Wakka. What are you still doing here?" Riku asked curiously.

"Capture Riku," was all he said in reply.

"Huh?" Riku looked at Wakka for a second. Something seemed off. He looked like a zombie. He also happened to be headed strait for Riku with a knife in his hand, and he kept chanting the same thing over and over again.

Riku started to back up. "Uh Wakka, are you okay?" He asked still backing up.

"Capture Riku."

_'Okay, this is not good. I don't want to get stabbed, but I don't want to hurt Wakka either. What should I do. I'm running out of pavement and the road is way to busy to walk on.'_ Then, he got an idea.

"What? Did you forget your ball at home? Is that why you have that knife? If you wanted a fight you could have just asked." Riku taunted hoping it would work.

"Dude, why in the world would I want to fight you? I'd lose here in front of everybody." he replied while putting away the knife, to Riku's greatest relief. _'Well that was definitely weird.'_ he thought before Wakka looked around and panicked "Wait, what time is it?"

"Almost one," Riku replied bluntly.

"Why am I still here? I should be at home getting ready for your cookout." Now it was Riku's turn to panic. If Wakka knew, the whole neighborhood would know by now. He knew there would be quite a few people anyway. Sora and Kairi always called up more people to come. He was prepared for that, but... the whole _neighborhood_!

_'I think I'm going to have to make my list longer.'_ He thought as they headed for Wakka's car.

"Do you know how many people are coming?"

Wakka laughed at his question as if he should already know the answer, and he had a feeling that he did. "I made sure everyone knew, as always, so probably the whole neighborhood."

Yep, it was confirmed. Riku would have to make a longer list. "By the way, are you going to make those cheese balls again? They were amazing."

"I had planed on it. I need to get some stuff and get home, or I won't have enough time to make it all," Riku said now seriously worried about the time he had.

"Okay, see ya later, Riku"

"See ya."

He headed back to the store while going over the events in his head. _'Why was Wakka acting like that, and why did he keep saying "Capture Riku." This is too weird. First the girl, then the dreams, and now this. What is going on.'_

He didn't ponder on it too long because he didn't have much time. He found everything he needed, including a pair of new, blue swim trunks with an ocean design at the bottom, since his old ones didn't fit, and they had a humongous pool that he would wind up in. Either he would voluntarily get in to swim, or get involuntarily pushed in by someone.(aka Sora) Either way he knew he would get wet, so he would be prepared. After he checked out, he headed home.

* * *

"Riku honey, your first guest are here," his mom called from the front room of their family's mansion.

"Okay, Mom. I'll be there in a sec."

He was washing off his hands after finishing the cheese balls. He knew that it was Sora and Kairi since they were always the first ones there, and they wouldn't mind waiting a little while.

He opened the door and was suprised at who was standing in front of him. Yes, Sora and Kairi were there, but so were Roxas and Namine. "How are you two able to be _outside_ of them?"

"We don't know," the four answered together.

"I got home and Roxas was sitting on my bed," Sora announced with a confused happy look on his face.

"Yeah, and I went to check on the girl and Namine was sitting on the floor," Kairi declared as well.

"Well, I guess that's just two more mouth's to add to the neighborhood," Riku stated while pointing an angry look at Sora.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Did you have to tell Wakka?"

"Yes, I thought it would be good for you to cook more. I mean, besides the fact that your a great cook," he defended himself, "you love to do it."

"Well, since you wanted to invite so many people, why don't you come help me set things up," Riku replied knowing that the younger boy would hate it. Sora was almost too lazy to do anything.

"_What_? You can't be serious," he wined.

"I am very serious, and since the rest of you are here, you can help, too."

He knew that was harsh, but he needed the help to be done on time.

"Okay," the others replied. Roxas was a little reluctant, but not as much as Sora. They headed to the kitchen.

The four teens gawked at how much food there was. They were impressed with their silver haired friend.

"Gosh Riku, this is enough food to feed everyone on Destiny Island, Disney castle, and then some." Sora remarked while drooling a little.

"Sora," cried a blue headed maid as she came in, "I just mopped this floor. So don't drool all over it!"

"Sorry Tina, it's just..."

"Yes, yes I know. Riku has outdone himself again," Tina said adoringly.

Riku tried turning the attention away from himself by saying, "We don't have much time. We need to get everything ready."

They all got to work, and before long they were done. There was a few minutes left before everyone would show up, so they went inside and got some drinks while they waited. Then the doorbell rang.

"It's still four twenty," Riku said. "Usually nobody shows up till four thirty."

"Just go answer the door Riku," Sora urged him on.

Riku went and opened the door, then gasp. "Mickey, Donald, Goofy?" he said then heard gasps come from the kitchen where the others were. "What are you doing here?"

* * *

Author's Note: I want to thank **NinjaJynx **for her review. I would also like to thank all the readers, fav-ers, and alerters. I don't know anything about cars, but my brother does. I asked him for help on that one. You can look it up on google if you want. Hope to update real soon.


	5. Chapter 4: The Cookout

Chapter 4: The Cookout

Mickey looked at him funny. "Riku, you _are_ the one that sent me the letter."

"Oh, right. I just didn't expect you to come here. I thought you would send a letter back," he replied.

"Well, I thought you might be happy to see me."

"Okay. So can you help us?"

Mickey had already figured out that they were having some sort of party and didn't want to spoil their fun. So instead of telling him the information that he wanted Mickey said, "I'll tell you later. First, I think you have a party to host."

"I think this is a little more important," Riku informed him looking a little annoyed.

"I haven't been to one of your parties yet, and I really want to see if you can cook as well as everyone says. The other can wait a little while, okay?" Mickey pleaded to him with a puppy dog eye look that made Riku unable to not do as his dear friend said.

"All right, but as soon as it's over your going to explain everything. Deal?" Riku demanded of the king.

"Deal."

* * *

As usual everyone arrived before five. When Riku and Sora finally opened the curtained doors, even Riku's parents gasped at their back yard.

Every surface was covered with food trays. Decorations that Kairi had just "happen to have" were illuminating the whole yard.

"Wow Riku, you really outdid yourself this time," said a spiky haired blond behind him.

"Thanks, Tidus."

"Sure thing buddy," he said before running off.

"Let me guess," said a girl with short brown hair, " Kairi did the decorations."

"How did you know, Selphie?" asked Kairi coming out of nowhere.

"Because, Riku would _never_ be able to decorate like this, he doesn't have enough style," she answered waving to all the tiki torches and balloon lights apparently not caring what he thought.

"You know, I am standing right here."

"Oh come on Riku, you know it's true. Besides you get all the credit just for the fact that this is your house, and you cooked the food," Selphie defended herself knowing he didn't really care that much.

"That's true but I do have style."

The girl looked him up and down. "Judging by what your wearing," a black tank with his swim trunks, "that doesn't seem to be true."

Personally, he thought he looked great, but before he could reply the girls ran off laughing. _'Speaking of girls, I wander whatever happened to Namine and Roxas?'_ Riku saw Sora close by and thought he'd ask him. What he failed to notice was that he happened to be standing right next to the pool.

"Hey, Sora..." was all he got out before being thrown in the pool by his best friend.

When he came up, he found Sora in a fit of laughter on the side of the pool. _'Rule number one, when pushing someone into the pool, never lose track of them. Rule number two, don't become distracted. Rule number three, if you should happen to forget the first two rules, remember to take a deep breath.'_ Riku silently repeated the list of rules Sora and him had made up as kids. Obviously, Sora's only option was rule number three. He smiled to himself.

"Hey Sora," the laughing teen looked up, "three," Riku said before pulling him in.

Sora knew exactly what he meant. Rule number three had been made solely for him. Riku never forgot the rules. Riku already had a hold on him, so he took a deep breath. He came up with just enough time to get some more air before Riku dunked him.

Riku got out just as more people jumped in. _'I wasn't planing on getting my shirt wet. Oh well. That's just Sora for you.'_ His mom noticed him and came over to get his shirt.

"Thanks, Mom," he called as she headed inside. _'Now I'll have to fend off stares throughout the rest of the night. That's what I get for lifting weights I guess. I should probably start getting used to this.'_

At that moment, a girl in a bikini with cherries on it and cropped, purple hair came up to him.

"Hey Riku, you wanna go swim with me?" she asked seductively.

Riku knew what she wanted to do,and it was not going swimming. He didn't want to go that far with any girl yet, let alone her. "Sorry Cherry, I have other things to attended to right now."

"Okay, but I'll be waiting if you need somebody to swim with."

Riku's stomach did back flips and he thought he was going to be sick. Cherry wasn't well known because she had gotten here just before Sora, Kairi, and him had gotten back. Her real name was Emerald, but everyone knew her by Cherry. She loved cherries and always had some with her. Why this was Riku decided he didn't want to know. He had heard some rumors and they were enough to make him sick.

He walked over to one of the tables to get some food. He was surprised to find Mickey enjoying a plate with a pile of food almost bigger than him.

"Uh, don't you think that's a bit much, Mickey?" he asked while grabbing a plate of his own.

"Riku! This food _is_ amazing," he said while stuffing his mouth with a cheese ball.

"Thanks, but I was wondering if you had seen Roxas and Namine?" he asked eating his own food.

"They're within Sora and Kairi, don't you remember," the king replied confused.

"But when they got here Roxas and Namine was with them."

"They're always with them Riku, you know that."

"No, what I'm trying to say is Roxas and Namine were out of Sora and Kairi. They were flesh and blood!" he told Mickey.

"I didn't see them when I went into the kitchen. Maybe you just imagined it."

_'How can that be possible? I know they came here with Sora and Kairi. Maybe I should go and ask them.'_ he thought before looking for the younger teenagers. He caught site of them but decided to ask later. Right now they were in the middle of a make out session and he new it would be embarrassing for all three of them if he interrupted. Instead he decided to swim a little after he finished eating.

Riku and Sora had both been on the swim team until they were old enough to play blitsball. This gave them excellent swimming skills. Not to mention the fact that they were surrounded by water. Makes you wonder why anyone had a pool on the islands. Riku's mom had said that it was safer and cleaner. He liked it because he didn't have to walk so far just to swim.

He started at the shallow end of three feet and worked his way back. He didn't want to go to twelve feet like he usually did because people were jumping off the low diving board there. He settled for an empty spot at eight feet.

Swimming was another thing that calmed him. Having to think about stroking, breathing, and moving forward at a steady rate took his mind off things.

* * *

He swam until he was too tired to go any further. When he finally got out he was surprised to see that most of the people had left.

"Riku, you swam for almost two hours," Roxas said coming up behind him.

"I did?" That was a new record for him. He was amazed that he had held out that long. Although, the more he had on his mind, the longer he swam, and he had a lot on his mind right now. Then, he remembered who had spoke."Roxas! You are here."

"Of course I'm here," he said confused. "You saw me come in with Sora, Kairi, and Namine."

"That's funny, Mickey said he didn't see you two when he went to the kitchen."

Roxas blushed and smiled sheepishly. "That's because we came out here before anyone else and occupied the tiki room."

Riku laughed. Kairi had turned the pool house into a temporary tiki room for couples to have a few minutes of privacy. "So you two were the reason for the long line."

"Hey, we haven't seen each other in a while so we decided to do some catching up."

"Yeah, I hope kissing was the only thing you were doing in there."

"I'm not stupid, besides she wouldn't let me near her if that was all I wanted."

"You've got a point there," he said thinking of how much alike Kairi and Namine really were. _'The only difference is that Kairi is a little tougher. She'd have to be in order to be Sora's girlfriend.'_ He laughed silently to himself.

The others arrived just then with tired looks on their faces.

"Just a few more people to escort out and then we'll be done." Sora said with a big yawn.

"Escort? Did something happen," Riku asked already half knowing the answer.

"Yeah," said Sora, "you missed the best fight of the year."

"Turns out Cherry's ex-boyfriend hasn't figured out that he's an _ex_-boyfriend," Kairi piped in.

"He found out about the cookout somehow and got here while Cherry and Tidus were in a major make out session," Namine added.

"He ran over and tried to punch Tidus. Luckily he was too drunk to be able to do much damage," Kairi again.

"But of course Tidus being who he is, got mad and swung back, and since he doesn't drink yet, he made contact." Namine said this time.

"Unfortunately that cleared up the other one's head a little and this time he did some damage."

Both of them looked completely taken by the story at this point. _'Great,'_ Riku thought, _'now instead of one, we have two queens of gossip.'_

"Um, girls?" Riku stopped them for a sec, "Does this guy have a name?"

"We never found out what it was," they both informed him.

"Anyways," Namine started back up, "Wakka joined the fight so it took Sora, Roxas, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy to get them to stop."

"Sora and Roxas held the big guy while Donald and Goofy held Tidus."

"And Mickey got Wakka to stop by reasoning with him."

"Tidus and Wakka already went home."

"But Cherry and her ex are still here," Namine finally finished for them.

"Wow, I don't know how you're able to understand that, Riku," Sora said wonderingly. "They were talking way too fast for me to follow."

"My mom took me to some of her tea parties when I was little," Riku replied a little embarrassed. "I thought it was pointless just to go so the women could gawk over how cute I was, but she said it would come in handy one day. Apparently, she was right."

"Aw how cute," said Kairi. "You've never told us that before, Riku."

"It never came up and it wasn't important so I decided not to tell you," he defended himself while his cheeks got a little redder. "You could've gotten my attention. I would have helped."

"Yeah," said Sora, "but you looked so caught up in what you were doing we decided to just leave you alone."

At about that time, Cherry's ex yelled at the top of his lungs, "Why in the world would you break up with me?"

"Because you're always drunk and never come to see me. Plus I don't use strawberry perfume," she yelled back.

They all saw his hand come up to slap her, but only Riku could jump over the pool make it there fast enough. He didn't like Cherry, but no man should hit a woman.

"Let me go boy or I'll have you on the ground crying like a baby," he said trying to pull his right arm out of Riku's fist to no avail,and in no time Riku had wrapped his arm around his back, kicked his knee to make him fall, and pinned him to the the ground.

"I suggest you leave now and stop bothering Cherry or not only will I kick your butt; I will also have you arrested for assault on a woman." Riku was obviously hurting the man a little, but he didn't care. Men like him didn't deserve to live.

"I'm sorry, I won't do this again, I promise," he cried with actual tears coming to the edges of his eyes.

"Good," Riku said while letting the man go. He hadn't kick him hard enough to break his knee so he stood up and ran off.

"Riku, my hero," Cherry said running up to him and giving him a big hug.

He pushed her away. "Yeah, don't expect it every day."

She pouted some but finally left.

Riku sighed and for the first time, looked at his surroundings. There was a little blood on the concrete from the fight. He'd have to get that cleaned up before his mom saw it. She had this thing about blood. It didn't make her sick, but she didn't like it.

He then looked at the tables and gasped. There was hardly any food left. He was really hungry after his swim and ate most of what was left. The rest would either be ate soon, seeing that Sora was eying it, questioning whether he could eat any more or not, or would be thrown out.

After they had cleaned up a bit, they headed inside.

"Okay," Riku said to King Mickey, "party's over. It's time for some explanations."

"Did you think about this through the whole party?" Mickey asked him concerned.

"Only when I wasn't swimming," he answered truthfully.

"Okay but this is going to take a while so you might want to change."

* * *

"Wow, Riku is stronger than I thought. This might be harder to do than I originally planed but he is perfect," said Cherry's ex-boyfriend switching from the blond average looking disguise he had used back to his normal handsome dark-headed figure.

"Master, do you want me to watch him still?" asked a purple haired figure.

"Yes Emerald. If at all possible I want you to get really close to him"

"Yes, Master," Emerald obeyed.

"Master," came two voices from the corridor.

"Nathan, Natasha, do you have any new information on Isabella?"

"Yes, Master," answered Nathan, "You're force field made her use more power than normal and she still appears to be unconscious."

"Good. I feel that I can trust you, so I want you to call me by my first name."

"Yes, Namoi," all three answered.

* * *

Author's Note: _I_ didn't even expect that to happen. Just so you know, I'm kinda making this up as I go along. That was a surprise. Reviews are greatly appreciated. I would like to thank **skyblaze112** and **black_maple_tree** for the reviews. I would also like to thank the readers, fav-ers, and alerters.


	6. Chapter 5: Isabella

Chapter 5: Isabella

After everyone had changed they all went to Riku's basement where they could have some privacy. They were tired, but not enough to make them want to sleep instead of hear Mickey's explanation.

"Oh, where to start," Mickey thought out loud while scratching his ear.

"Why don't you start from the beginning," suggested Goofy trying to help.

"Yeah," Donald agreed, "they need to know the whole story to understand what's been happening."

"Isa's very particular as to who she lets hear that story," Mickey pondered still scratching his ear.

"Isa?" The five teens asked in unison.

"Oh, that's right, you don't know who she is. Her name is Isabella, and a very few are allowed to call her Isa," Mickey explained to their confused faces.

"So why can only a few call her that?" Sora asked the question that the rest of them were thinking.

"She is very particular on who her friends are. If she trust you, you're her friend. If you're her friend, then you can call her that." Mickey replied.

"Well, if she ever wakes up then she should be able to trust us easily," Sora said.

"Not necessarily."

"Why not? There's nothing that could make her not trust us," Sora wined unhappy that somebody might not be able to trust him. He was the chosen Keyblade Master after all.

"She doesn't trust Mrs. Pensingtun and she's one of the most trustworthy people I've ever know."

"Mrs. who?" Kairi asked not quit understanding who he was talking about but knowing the name sounded familiar.

"Maybe it _would_ be easier to start from the beginning," Mickey finally decided. "So stay seated and listen carefully. I won't repeat this because I know once will make her mad enough. Also, I want limited interruptions because everything should be explained in what I'm about to tell you," he said glancing at Sora.

"What?" Sora said and got a loud "Shhhh!" from everybody.

"It all started sixteen years ago when Isabella was born," Mickey started.

"I thought you were allowed to call her Isa," Sora interrupted first thing.

Mickey glared at him till he finally caught on then said, "Yes, I can call her that but I'm going to say Isabella for now so you don't get used to the other and accidentally call her that. She'll be less likely to trust you then. Now can I go on without any more interruptions?"

"Yes," everyone said. They had a hold on Sora already to make him be quiet.

"Like I was saying, it all started when Isabella was born. She was loved by many people because of her light. She was born with a light like no other. No matter where she went, even as an infant, she would always bring happiness. Soon her father, Namoi, decided that her light was too bright and put a cloud of darkness around it. She new nothing about this because she wasn't even a month old. Her mother found out and told him to leave and never come back.

"For three years Isabella, her mother, Catrina, and her brother, Rojer, lived in peace. They went places, did all sorts of fun things, and celebrated holidays, but on the night of Isabella's third birthday Namoi came back. He was much stronger than what he had been when he left. Rojer had been at camp, thank heavens for that, and Isabella and her mom were at the house alone.

"Catrina was just putting her to bed when there was a loud knock on the door. Catrina went to check and see who would be there that late at night. When she opened the door she screamed and tried to run to save herself and her daughter. She didn't know of Namoi's powers and he stopped her in her tracks. 'Mommy who's there?' Isabella asked while coming out of her bedroom," Mickey stopped to Sora's raised hand, which almost made him laugh, but he sighed and said, "Yes Sora, what is it?"

"How do you know all this? You weren't there were you?" Sora asked glad to get his question out.

"No Sora, I wasn't there, but Isa has a very unique way of telling stories, and I'm telling you what she showed me." Mickey explained.

"Showed?" Riku asked this time.

"I'll let her explain that later. Now where was I... oh yes. She had just came out of her bedroom. Her mother told her to run away, but she was to scared to move. Namoi said, 'Come here child or I'll kill you mother.' She, of course, did as he told her. 'Good. I'm sorry about this Catrina, but Isabella has to much potential for me to let her go.' Namoi started to leave with a squirming Isabella in his arms when he turned around. 'On second thought, I think I'll kill you anyway.' She screamed as he twisted her bones before finally strangling her to death."

"But I thought he had Isabella in his arms," it was Roxas who interrupted this time.

"He was using his powers. May I go on now?" Mickey asked a little impatient. "There's still quit a bit left to tell."

They all nodded and he went on. "He headed out the door with Isabella screaming in his arms for her mother. 'Shut up and be glad your brother wasn't here, because if he was, he would be dead, too.' he said to her. He took her to his castle where she lived for the next two years. She would go to see her brother at their grandparents house secretly to tell him everything that was happening. Eventually that became too dangerous, so she stopped going.

"Namoi was training her to destroy most of the universe. She did what she was told so she wouldn't get punished. She never said she would actually obey him when the time came and she didn't plan on it. He new that though. He also was the only one at the time who new about the darkness surrounding her heart. Her mother had never told anyone, so he could use that to his advantage.

"When she turned five and her training was finally over, she risked one more trip to warn her brother. He was seven then and could get everyone off the world in case something went wrong and she did destroy it. He did as he was told and everyone got off in time. They didn't have time, however, to miss seeing their beloved little girl change into a villain and destroy their beautiful home called Rose Hills."

"So that's what happened to that place," Riku thought out loud.

"You know it?" Mickey asked surprised.

"Yeah, my parents took me there when I was four. I don't remember much, but I remember enough to know it was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. I had wandered why we never went back. Now I know." He had wished many times that he could go back there and see more. He often thought he had just made it up. Not only was it beautiful and peaceful, but it smelled amazing, too. There was an ocean there and everyone had a rose garden in their yard. That's what it smelled like, roses and the ocean. It was almost too perfect.

"Yes well, Namoi controlled Isabella with the darkness he put in her and made her destroyed it till there was nothing left but sand. Namoi still resides there, and it's called the Haunted Desert now. Nobody but him has been there in years, even though it is terribly close to Destiny Islands.

"Namoi lost control of Isabella after that and she got away, meaning that he would have to find somebody new. Isabella wound up on a world called Kingdom Gate. The reason it's called that is that the door to Kingdom Hearts is there. There she met quit a few people, including Mrs. Pensingtun. Mrs. Pensingtun is the Instructor of the Kingdom Keepers. Every Princess of Heart knows something about the Kingdom Keepers," he said getting a bit off subject. "Just bits and peaces about different things. The reason is, that if something should come up, those bits and pieces would be brought to their attention and they would be able to piece it together."

"So that's why Mrs. Pensingtun's name sounded so familiar to me," Kairi blurted out.

"Yes Kairi, you all know the Instructors name, and you each know a few other separate details. It's not enough for just one of you to know, but if all seven of you come together you will know instantly what to do. Getting back on track, at first Isabella wasn't trusted because they had heard what had happened. After time, though, she became respected. She worked her way up through ranks, cleaners that wore black cloth and jewelry, messengers that wore white cloth and jewelry, second rank fighters that wore silver cloth and jewelry, and last, first rank fighters that wore gold cloth and jewelry. Mrs. Pensingtun brought her to me to help her control her darkness. Then she was a second rank fighter. Now, she is obviously a first rank fighter and she was sent here for a reason." He paused for a second to let them take all of it in.

Riku knew why she was here. She had told him. _'Protect your heart, Riku. The fate of the universe depends on it.'_ She gave him her message so why was she still here. _'Wait, she's a _ fighter_ not a messenger. Maybe she has a bigger purpose that she can't fulfill because she's unconscious.'_ he thought to himself. "What is her purpose, Mickey?"

"Her purpose is to teach you to handle your darkness like she did her's so Namoi can't use you like he did her," Mickey answered gravely.

"What?" everyone except king Mickey said, for he hadn't told Donald and Goofy exactly why they were coming here, just that Destiny Island was in danger and that Isabella was there unconscious.

"That's not fare," Sora said worried for his friend, "he still hasn't gotten over last time."

"Nobody ever said life was fare, Sora," Riku told him. "Do you know why Isabella is unconscious?"

"No, we're still trying to figure that out," Mickey replied sadly.

It was quiet for a moment till Sora let out a big yawn. "It's getting late, we should probably finish talking in the morning."

They all agreed. Sora and Roxas headed home first. Kairi and Namine helped set up beds for Mickey,Donald, and Goofy in the basement then headed home.

* * *

After saying goodbye and goodnight to everybody Riku headed to his room. He had a big room with a queen sized bed, an entertainment center,his own bathroom, a big closet, and a balcony deck outside his floor to ceiling windows.

Right now he was out on the balcony watching the ocean and looking at the stars. These were two more things that could bring him peace. Although right now it didn't seem like anything could bring him peace. Before long though, he had dozed off in his lawn chair.

_"Riku, you know who I am now and you know why I'm here. Please heed my warning. If you don't, not only will you lose control of yourself, but he'll use your strength to destroy everything. You can't let this happen."_

_"But I don't know how to control my darkness, and I don't know if I can learn how in enough time."_

_"I told you already, say my name and I'll wake up. Then I can help you."_

_"But how do I know it's you."_

_"What, are you saying, you don't trust me."_

_"No, I trust you. I know you can help me do this, but couldn't Namoi be talking to me with your voice."_

_"He could, if he knew how. Riku, I usually make sure others trust me before I trust them. It's different with you. You've been through the same things I have, you take precautions like I do, and you have controlled darkness before. You are the only one that can wake me up. I know you can do this. You want help right."_

_"Yes."_

_"Then say my name."_

_"Isabella."_

_"_No_, say _my_ name."_

_"Isa."_

_"_No_."_

_"What are you..."_

_"Yes, that's it. Now... _say my name_."_

_"Kingdom... Hearts?"

* * *

_

Author's Note: I'm glad that people seem to be enjoying the story. Again thank you for reading, favoring, and alerting. I would like to thank **black_maple_tree** for the reviewing. I hope to have another chapter out soon._  
_


	7. Chapter 6: Research

Chapter 6: Research

_'Love is an amazing thing,'_ Rach thought while eating lunch at Rojer and Isa's house. Isa had found this old abandoned mansion when she first came here. Most of the town had thought it was beyond repair, but Isa saw potential in it. She asked the mayor about it and he said, "If you can fix that old building up, you can have it." Of course nobody thought she could do it, and that just made her want to even more.

She had always loved a good challenge. When they were younger, she would fight with her brother, race him, and they would even have cook offs sometimes. Most of the time she won, but every now and then she pulled back to let him win. She always liked to see his victory dances. They were always so hilarious.

Now, Rach was sitting in this amazing mansion that Isa had fixed up despite all the talk. She had kept it's old fashion charm while adding some modern stuff to give it a perfect balance of old and new. Isa had always been good at seeing the true beauty of things, including Rach.

Rach loved to come here. It was like her home away from home. Her and her mom were always welcome. They had come here many times to get away from the wrath of her drunken dad. Fortunately, he was gone now. After a year and a half, Isa had finally convinced Rach's mom that she didn't need him anymore. Now, Rach just came over a lot to visit.

Rach was eating the amazing pasta salad that Rojer had made, while he was at their homemade computer researching. They were like the perfect people. They could do everything. They made weapons, gadgets, and all sorts of useful things that they sold to make money, and boy did they ever. They both had nice cars, plenty of food and tons of other stuff. Mostly they had accumulated it over the years. They gave money or food to people who really needed it, too. Rach couldn't count the times her family had made it through because of them. Most everyone here had been happy since they got here.

"Computer, are you sure there's nothing there," Rojer asked with an annoyed look.

"Yes Rojer, I have checked everything," the computer responded.

Rach had heard that thing talk many times, but it still freaked her out. It sounded like a robot version of Batman's butler, Alfred. _'It helps more than a regular computer so I guess there's no complaining,'_

"Didn't you say Namoi could create a force field or something? Maybe you should try checking around it," Rach suggested.

With the research they had already done, they had found out that Namoi was a part of why Isa was there. They knew that he had to be the reason for Isa being unconscious; they just didn't know how he accomplished it.

"I can't believe I didn't think of that. Rach, you're a genius," he said making her blush.

It wasn't every day she got called a genius. Usually it was the exact opposite, and what made it even better was that Rojer was the one who had called her that. She was in heaven. Then she remembered a question she had thought of not very long ago.

"Hey Rojer," she called a bit nervously.

"Yeah?"

"When Isa told me the story, she said that she got here somehow,and she didn't mention anything about you. Were you already here?" she finally got out.

He turned to look at her before answering, "No. Our grandparents grew up on a different world than Rose Hills. They directed our ship to land there. I would have stayed, but somehow I knew that Isa was alive and that she was herself again. I told them and they told me to follow my heart. I did, and it took me here.".

"How did you already have a ship big enough to fit all those people in?"

"I knew what was going on two years before it happened, so I prepared for it."

"Oh," she said. _'They were smart even when they were little.'_

"Of course, I had some help from my grandpa," he confessed.

"Your dad wasn't always like this was he?" she asked another question she had thought of.

"No. He used to be a pretty good person," he replied sadly. "I don't know why he had to change. We had a perfectly good life."

"You don't blame Isa, do you?" Rach asked worried.

"No, of course not. It wasn't Isa's fault that she was born with so much light, and Dad didn't have to change because of that."

"I've noticed something," she said suddenly. "You call Namoi Dad, but Isa just calls him Namoi."

"He was my dad for two years before he changed. He's never been a dad to Isa. He's just the father she'd rather not have," Rojer explained.

"Oh. I know what that feels like, but my dad used to be good. I guess I kinda get where your coming from. My dad isn't himself anymore, but he's still my dad," she reasoned to herself.

This was something that Rojer liked about Rach. She was always so curious, but she asked her questions sparingly and when the time was right. If they didn't want to tell her something, she didn't pry, and she always tried to make them feel better.

When he first saw Rach come through the door with Isa, he didn't think a girl could get any prettier. Yeah, his sister was pretty, but she was his sister. Rach wasn't gorgeous in the normal way, as in everything was perfectly placed and taken perfect care of, but in the colors she had chosen for her hair, and her gorgeous cat eyes were enough for Rojer.

She always dyed her hair something unusual and out of the ordinary. Her figure wasn't anything to gawk at, but it was enough for him, and her eyes out of this world eyes, they were amazing. He had heard of people that had two different colored eyes, but that usually meant that they had one brown eye and one hazel one. Her eyes were different. Her right one was blue and her left one was green. His eyes weren't much, just a dull midnight blue.

_'If only I were a bit younger. Then, she might not think that I'm too old.'_ He thought sadly before the computer finally found the information that they had been looking for.

"Rojer," the computer said formally, "I have found the information you seek."

Rojer turned back to the computer, finally realizing that he had been staring at Rach. Luckily she hadn't seemed to notice.

_'Oh, if only I were a bit older. Then he might not think that I'm too young.'_ She thought turning back to her food. He was perfect in every way. He had amazing dark blue eyes. He had a good build and muscles that weren't too big, but she could see them through his shirt. Since they could wear anything they wanted when they weren't working or at Kingdom Hearts, he had on his casual clothes, a pair of jeans with a plain black T-shirt. She was wearing one of her skirt and matching top outfits. This one happened to be purple. She hated the color, but it was Isa's favorite, so she had bought it. Rach found that it comforted her whenever Isa was away.

"Rach," Rojer said bringing her back to the mansion, "I'm going to tell Mrs. P about the force field."

"Rojer, we're not supposed to know about Isa. Remember?"

"Yeah I know, but I think she'll want to hear about this."

"Fine. Just don't get yourself in trouble. Okay?" she ordered him.

"Promise," he reassured before leaving.

* * *

"Namoi, I have some bad news," Nathan said while coming to his masters side.

"I really don't need bad news right now, but go ahead."

"Rojer found the force field and Riku finally figured out how to wake up Isabella."

"That _is_ bad news," Namoi said scratching his chin. "Contact Hades, I think it's time to bring back Riku's dearly missed acquaintance."

"Who do you want brought back?" Nathan asked, curious as to who would be able to torment Riku.

"We'll see how well he can learn to control his darkness while he has Xehanort to deal with again."

Namoi started his evil laugh, and this time, Nathan couldn't help but join in.

* * *

Author's Note: Again I would like to thank everyone that has read, faved, or alerted this story. I would like to thank** black_maple_tree** for the helpful reviews. Hope to update again soon.


	8. Chapter 7: Fighting

Chapter 7: Fighting

She woke up in a sweat. She had been asleep for so long. She was glad to finally be awake and be able to do her job. She looked around the room. She could tell that this was a girls room. There was a dresser with clothes hanging out of it and what looked to be like pink paint on the walls. She sat up and saw two girls sleeping on mattresses on the floor. That's when she noticed that she was on the bed.

_'They let me sleep on the bed while they slept on the floor. That was nice. It may be easier to trust these people than I thought.'_ She was glad too. She wanted to be able to trust someone. She already trusted Riku, but they had only talk when he went to sleep. One of the girls stirred then. _'Should I let them know I'm awake. They've probably been taking good care of me. No, I know they have. They'll want to know. Now what was her name again. Oh, right.'_

"Kairi," she said loud enough to wake up both girls.

"What Namine?" Kairi said rolling over a bit to look at Namine.

"I didn't say anything," Namine said innocently.

"If you didn't, then who did?" she asked annoyed that she had gotten woke up for nothing.

"I don't know, but it wasn't me so don't get mad."

"Would you two quit fighting, I'm the one who woke you up."

"Isabella?" the girls said together. "Your awake!"

* * *

When Riku woke up, he knew he had to go see her. It was still late at night, but she should be awake now. He could have gotten Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, but somehow, he knew they didn't need to come.

He headed over to Kairi's house in the dead of night. When he got to the fork in the road, he was surprised to see Sora and Roxas coming from the other way.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked.

"Kairi called and told us that the girl, I mean Isabella, is awake, and that we should come over." Sora explained. "Didn't she call you?"

"I probably left before she had the chance," Riku replied, confusing them both.

"Uh, did you just wake up in the middle of the night and decide to check on Isabella?" Roxas asked him.

"No, I'll explain it later. Right now, we need to get to Kairi's."

"Right," they answered before heading off.

They all ran the half mile left to Kairi's house. When they got there, Sora was about to knock, when Namine opened the door.

"Good, your here," she said with a sigh of relief. "Riku we didn't get a hold of you. How did you know to come?'

"I'll explain it later," he told her as well.

"Okay, come on. She doesn't know anyone and you three might be able to help with getting her to talk."

"Um, Namine," Sora said, "she doesn't know us either."

"I know, but you three are better with people than me and Kairi. Now come on," Namine ordered them.

They headed up the stairs to Kairi's room. The first thing Riku noticed was the extra mattress on the floor for Namine. Then he looked up and found himself staring into the most gorgeous stormy blue eyes he had ever seen.

"Finally, it's about time you three got here," Kairi said to them as they came into the room.

Riku didn't hear her. He was still staring into Isabella's mesmerizing eyes, and she was staring right back.

_'He's hot, and he has amazing eyes. Nobody told me Riku looked this good.' _she thought to herself. She knew how to tell them all apart. She had been given some information before she left so she would know. Their appearance, how they would act, and a few other minor details. The two she didn't know, she guessed were Roxas and Namine.

"Um... Hi Isabella," Sora said, unsure of what her reaction would be.

She laughed. "What's all the tension for? It's like you guys think I'm gonna blow up on you or something."

At first, the rest of them were shocked at her response. Then they all relaxed a bit.

"So, you have a good side," Sora said sarcastically.

"Of course. If I didn't have a good side, life wouldn't be near as fun," she replied truthfully. She couldn't tell what it was, but something about these people made her feel great. She still didn't know if she could trust them or not though. She knew they were trustworthy, just like Mrs. P, but would they trust her as well. "I have a question."

"Go ahead," said Sora.

"I know Mickey told you my story. I'm actually the opposite of mad because I was going to tell you myself. I'm glad I don't have to... But I want to know something. Do you trust me?"

They were all a little surprised at her question. Sora was the first to respond. "What kind of question is that? I don't know they're answers, but I can tell you that I do."

Everyone except Riku agreed.

"Riku, you trust me don't you?" she asked him.

"I already told you," he replied simply, leaving everyone else in the room confused.

"But I want to see you say it."

He paused before finally saying, "Yes, I trust you."

"Good. Now that we have that settled, you can call me Isa," she said to their surprise.

"Really," they all said.

"Don't you need to make sure that we're telling the truth?" Sora asked her.

"Sora," said Kairi, "you shouldn't be so rude."

"No, it's okay Kairi. Normally, I would, but you all are different. I can tell that you're telling the truth." They all smiled at her response.

"Can you all give us a moment," Riku asked politely.

"Why? Got a crush on the new girl, Riku," Sora teased him.

"No, I just need to talk to her alone," He replied with some red across his cheeks.

"Okay, just don't get too rowdy," Sora said. Riku turned even redder.

They all started to leave. When Sora went by, Riku got him in a headlock and gave him a good noogie. Sora finally got out and went on.

Isa sat laughing on the bed. That reminded her of her older brother. He would do the same thing when she got on his nerves.

Riku could tell that she was happy and didn't want to interrupt, she had an amazing laugh, but he had some questions that he needed answers for. "You know what I want to talk about, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. You want to know why I woke up when you said Kingdom Hearts," she answered.

"Yeah, that's been bugging me since I got up earlier."

"Well, you know that I was born with a light like no other, right?"

"Yes."

"The reason for that is that Kingdom Hearts put its light inside of me for me to protect."

Riku was shocked to hear this answer. "Why did it pick you? I mean, it had to know about your father."

"That's _why_ it picked me. It knew that my father would not be able to handle the light and would put a cloud of darkness around my heart. He was helping to balance my heart when he did that."

"Oh, that makes sense. That would also explain why Kingdom Hearts seems to be full of darkness without any light."

"Yes, if you search hard enough you can reach me with your heart. If you need help I'll send it. If you just needed to find the light, then that's fine too."

"I searched many times but never knew if I actually found it or not."

"You did Riku. I can't count the times I felt your heart call out to me. It was the most prominent when you needed to help Kairi."

"So you did help me then? I knew I couldn't do that by myself. It took a lot of willpower to stop Xehanort from hurting her."

"Did someone call?" asked a voice that Riku could never forget.

"Xehanort, you're supposed to be dead," Riku told him, angry and devastated that he would have to deal with him again.

"I just couldn't give you up. You have so much strength that would be so useful to me," he said before shooting a ball of darkness at Riku. Before it could hit him, Isa stepped in the way with a shield.

"You wouldn't happen to be working for Namoi, would you?" she asked.

"Clever little girl, aren't you. I'll leave you alone for now, but be forewarned, I'll come when you least expect it, Riku. I will take you back, and together we will destroy this universe," he said before vanishing into thin air.

At about that time the others burst through the door. "What happened? We thought we heard a blast," Sora said for all of them.

"You did," Riku answered angrily. "I thought I had finally gotten rid of him. He wasn't supposed to come back. He's not supposed to be here," he finished before running out the door so as to not break something.

They had confused looks as to who Riku was referring to, so Isa said, "Xehanort."

Everyone knew that it would be useless to follow him, so they stayed put. Isa on the other hand, knew that he needed someone to talk to and maybe even fight against to let out his anger. She opened a portal of darkness and went through before any one could protest.

* * *

When she got to the small islet she had landed on, she hid. She didn't want to scare him off when he got there. She wanted to help.

It took a few minutes but Riku's anger had given him more strength than usual and he got there faster. He want to hit something, break something, but he didn't know what.

"Riku," a familiar voice came from behind him.

"What are you doing here Isa?" he asked amazed that she would actually show up when he was this mad.

"I thought you might like somebody to fight against that you wouldn't have to worry about breaking," she said to his surprise.

"You think your stronger than me?" he said seriously.

"I destroyed a world when I was _five_. I think I can handle myself."

He thought about that for a second. "Okay, but don't hold back," he challenged.

"Got it."

They both got into fighting stances. Riku called out his keyblade and so did Isa.

"You can wield a keyblade?"

"Of course. My heart _is_ completely made up of light you know."

"Of course," he said before attacking.

She blocked his attack and pushed him backwards. Then she went after him. He came up to block her attack, but she changed directions and hit his leg just hard enough to make him fall.

"Obviously you don't need to worry about me. I want you to let out all of your anger, so you don't need to hold back either. Got that?" she demanded of him.

To answer her question he started to get up, but went for her stomach while he was on one knee. She jumped backwards and smiled. _'This is going to be fun.'_

They fought for hours. Each of them getting hits on the other and neither holding back. They didn't stop for a second. Riku needed to get his anger out and Isa new this would help him to control his darkness.

It had been a while since Riku had fought. Thanks to his anger though, he didn't have to worry about his strength. He didn't want to take it out on Isa, but she was holding her own pretty good, and he had to admit, he was already starting to feel tons better than he had in a long time.

It was amazing how they moved. Each attacking and countering perfectly. Even when they got hit, it was like they had let it happen on purpose. It was almost like a dance that they didn't know and made up as they went. Riku would attack and Isa would follow. It was in perfect synchronization.

They kept going till it was almost dawn and their bodies were finally starting to tire. Riku was on the ground, and Isa jumped on top of him to pin him there. Her hands holding his arms and her weight holding him to the sand. Their faces inches apart. They were breathing hard and they could feel each others heart beats. They finally noticed the position they were in and both turned red. Isa got off of him and he sat up.

"Well, that was fun," Isa said with cheeks that were on fire.

"Yeah," Riku said distractedly. He couldn't get over how well their bodies fit together. It was almost like they had been made to be together they fit so well. He also had trouble getting over the fact that when Isa had been touching him, it had sent an electric shock throughout his body. It was like she had given his life back to him and then some.

"Are you okay?" she asked, worried she had went a little overboard.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just deep in thought."

"Oh." She had never felt like this with anyone before. Whenever she was fighting him, she completely forgot about her worries. Even now, with him just sitting there, it was like all there was in the world was him.

"Isa?" he got her attention.

"Yeah?" she answered.

"Have you ever loved anyone before."

"Well, I love Rojer and Rach," she told him.

"Rojer's your brother, but who's Rach?" he asked hoping that it wasn't a boyfriend who just happened to have a girlish name, or even worse, a girlfriend. His parents had told him about people like that, and he didn't have a problem with them, it was their choice but if she liked boys and broke up with him, Riku might have a chance. If she liked girls, that was a different story.

"Rach is my best friend," she said to Riku's relief. "Why did you ask if I had ever loved someone before though?"

"Um... well, there's this amazingly beautiful girl that I met, and I don't exactly know if she's the one or not," he explained without telling her that she was the one he was talking about.

"Oh," she said disappointed. _'So he does have someone special.' _Deciding that helping him would be better than nothing she said, "You should make sure that you really love her before you tell her that. You can go on dates and stuff, but you might break her if you say that and don't really mean it."

"Don't you mean break her heart?"

"No. It could really damage a person if somebody told them they loved them then betrayed them... I mean, I know he wasn't good from the beginning," she said starting to lose Riku, "but he lied when he said he loved me. He shouldn't have said that. I was little and he was my father." Riku finally caught on. "I should have been able to trust him. He should have taken care of me. He shouldn't have killed Mom. He, he, he should have loved me," she said bursting into tears.

Riku finally understood why people were so skeptical about her. She knew her father was a bad person, but she wanted him to love her just the same. She also wanted to have her mother back. That's what she wanted more than anything. She wanted her parents. He couldn't give her that, but he could give her a shoulder to cry on.

She felt Riku's strong arms go around her. Normally she would have pushed him away, not wanting his pity, but she needed him right now. She needed someone to hold her when she cried like her father should have all those years ago. She needed someone who would listen to her sad stories no matter how painful it was. Rojer and Rach were good people and they would have helped, but they weren't enough anymore. She needed someone she could give her life to and know that he would keep and protect it no matter what. She needed Riku, but how could she have him when he already had someone. Who had he been talking about earlier? She had to know.

Riku just held her and let her ruin his shirt. He didn't talk, didn't move, just sat there with her in his arms and felt her pain with her until he heard her say his name softly.

"Yeah?" he said while looking down at her blue eyes that were magnified by the red around them.

"Who were you talking about earlier, when you asked about loving someone."

He hadn't expected that question, but he decided to answered it truthfully nonetheless. "I was talking about..."

Riku never got to finish his sentence, because right then Xehanort showed up.

* * *

Author's Note: Again thank you for everything. I want to thank **Queen Baka** for her review. I'll try and get the next one out as soon as possible. I'm wandering whether or not I should write a chapter just about Namoi and his gang. Please let me know what you think. Also can someone tell me how to put the little mark above the e in Namine. It would be greatly appreciated. Reviews are always welcome, and again thank you. I would also like to thank **black_maple_tree** for helping me with the last part. It made me think about it and come up with something better.


	9. Chapter 8: Riku's Dream

**Read this before going on.**

I normally wait till the end to put an Author's Note and I will do the same with this one, but if you haven't read the updated version of chapter 7, you need to. If you go to the end, it has been changed. You won't be able to understand this chapter if you don't read it.

* * *

Chapter 8: Riku's dream

"What do you want Xehanort?" Riku asked with anger seeping through every word.

"You already know what I want. You've even helped me by tiring yourself out," he replied calmly.

"I'm not too tired to fight you."

"We'll see about that," he said before going after Riku.

Riku let go of Isa and stood up just barely in time to block his attack. Xehanort was right, he was pretty tired. He didn't know if he would be able to take much. They began a battle that would decide who was worthy of controlling Riku's power.

After about an hour of fighting, Xehanort was still fighting hard and Riku was becoming even more tired.

"It looks to me like you are loosing your strength, Riku," Xehanort said.

"You are not using me again."

"Oh, I think that I will. You see, Namoi gave me these powers to take control of you, and I intend to use them to their fullest."

"Xehanort," Isa said, being recognized for the first time throughout the battle.

"Isa, stay out of this. This is my fight," Riku told her.

She ignored him, "Namoi is just using you Xehanort. Once you have a firm grip on Riku, he'll take that grip and get rid of you."

"Shut up little girl. You don't know what your talking about," he said starting to go after her instead.

Riku blocked his path. "Isa, I told you to stay out of this. I don't want you to get hurt."

"How nice, he's trying to protect the exact girl that wants to destroy this world. Oops. He wasn't supposed to know about that, was he?" Xehanort said to Riku's astonishment.

"What is he talking about Isa?" Riku asked her seriously.

"Riku, he's lying. I would never do something like that," she said defending herself.

While Riku was distracted, Xehanort slashed at his stomach. The attack went through his shirt and cut his skin. Riku fell to the ground in pain.

"Now I shall take complete control again," Xehanort said with a smile. He went toward him, but before he could get there, Isa was standing in his way. A strange power was emanating off of her. "Girl, get out of my way or you'll never see the light of another day."

"My name is Isabella and I will not let you hurt him or take control of him."

"Well, he was right. You are a stubborn little thing aren't you."

"I'm not little," she said attacking him.

"Isa... get... out... of... here," Riku panted still on the ground.

"And leave you here for him. Not a chance, Riku. I _can_ take care of myself, you know," she replied dodging Xehanort's sword. She raised up her hand and a ball of darkness shot out.

"Fool, I control darkness, as well," Xehanort said catching the ball.

"Yes, but not the light within," she said as light came through the dark sphere.

Xehanort's eyes widened just before it hit him. He crumpled in pain. The light was spreading through his body. "Make it stop!" he pleaded.

"If you leave, I will make it go away, but not any sooner."

"Fine, but I will be back, do not forget that." He vanished and Isa took her light back.

"Riku," Isa said running over to him. "Riku, are you okay?"

"Isa, I'm so tired," he answered weekly. He was still week from their battle, and he was losing a lot of blood.

"I know, just stay awake for now, okay," she said opening another portal of darkness. He was used this so maybe it wouldn't hurt him to bad. She didn't have time to row back to the main land.

She picked him up in her arms and he said, "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking you back to your house so I can take care of your wound," she explained to him.

He panicked when she said this. "If my parents see this they'll freak out."

"Don't worry. I'm taking you to the room Mickey and the others are in so they won't disturb us. I've already informed Mickey and he'll tell the others."

"Others?" Riku asked confused.

"Yeah, they all decided to head over to tell them what had happened."

"Oh." He then noticed the dark portal she was headed to. "Shouldn't you be using the realm of light to travel."

"The realm of darkness is more peaceful, and it'll be easier for you."

They entered the portal and came out in Riku's basement just before he blacked out.

"What happened?" Sora said worried.

"I'll tell you later. First, I need to take care of his wounds," Isa told them reassuringly. "Sora, Roxas. I need your help."

Both boys helped her put Riku on the bed and held him up. Isa carefully took off his shirt. _'Wow! He looks even better without a shirt on.'_ Even Isa became mesmerized by how perfect Riku's body looked._ 'Okay, time to get back on track.'_

"Kairi, could you go get me some warm water and a wash rag?" she asked.

Kairi ran off and Isa spoke to Riku. "Riku, can you hear me."

He moaned some and opened his eyes. "Isa, can't I just sleep?"

"Not yet."

Kairi walked in with a bowl fool of water and a wash rag. Isa took it from her and got to work. She dunked the rag in the water and rung it out.

"This might sting a little," she said before placing it on the cut. Riku flinched, but he could tell Isa knew what she was doing. He had lost a lot of blood and it felt like something was tearing him apart inside. He was so tired, and he wanted to go to sleep, but he knew that Isa was right about him keeping his eyes open. If he went to sleep, he might not wake back up, and his strength was still slowly leaving him.

"Isa," he just barely got out, "hurry. I can't hold on much longer." Everything was starting to turn black. _'Am I dying. So this is what it feels like. Why does it feel like I'm on fire if he just cut me.'_ A million thoughts rushed through his head at once. He couldn't see anymore and was starting to lose consciousness. He could hear Isa calling to him from what seemed like far away.

"Riku, stay with me." Relief washed through her when his eyes opened back up.

"Isa, why does it feel like I'm on fire?"

"Namoi put some special poison on Xehanort's sword. It'll kill a person within an hour," she explained.

"Isa, we don't want to scare him even more," Sora said thinking that it might hurt Riku more than help him right now.

"Sora, he's a lot stronger than a normal person. He should be howling in pain right now. He has more time, even in the state he's in, but only if we can keep him awake. Why don't you make yourself useful and make sure of that," she ordered him still working on cleaning the wound.

"Isa," it was Namine this time. "Don't you need to get the poison out then?"

"Yes, but I can't do that until all this blood is cleaned up."

"Me and Kairi can help."

"Okay. That's a good idea. Go get some more rags, and why don't you get some more water while your at it. This stuff is starting to get really dirty."

Namine ran off to get what was needed and Isa sat and waited. The water she had was too dirty to do much with. _'I hope I have enough energy to get the poison out of him. I'm pretty tired from last night.'_

Namine came back in with new water and two more rags and the girls got to work again.

After two more bowls of water, an interruption from Riku's parents, thank heavens Mickey is such a fast thinker, and Sora yelling at the top of his lounges to keep Riku awake, all the blood was finally cleaned up.

Isa lade her hand on Riku's stomach and started building energy to get the poison out. She wasn't sure she had it in her, but she had to try. Riku was important to her. How important? She didn't know. All she knew was that he made her feel unlike anyone else. Her energy was ready and she started the slow process.

Riku felt an energy surge through him. It found the source of his pain and started pulling on it. It wasn't painful, but it wasn't pleasant either. It took what seemed like hours for it to end. Once he couldn't feel anything flowing out of him; he started feeling something flowing into him.

"Isa," he said with a bit more strength now that the pain was gone, "what are you doing now?"

"I'm putting some blood back into your system. Not much just enough to make sure you survive," he heard her more clearly this time.

"But where are you getting the blood from?"

"Myself," she said getting gasps from everyone in the room.

He tried to move her hand to no avail, "I don't want to take anything from you. You've already done so much for me."

"It's okay, besides, we both have the same type of blood. That means that I don't have to use more energy to change it."

Obviously she wasn't going to listen to him, so he let it slide. It was making him feel better. Soon, nothing was flowing into him and Isa's hand left his stomach. His skin tingled where her hand had been. _'Why do I get that feeling every time she touches me?'_ Did he love her? He wasn't sure, but he could tell he had feelings for her. Whether or not she returned those feelings was what really mattered to him.

"Isa," he started.

"Shhh, you need to rest now," she told him reminding him of how tired he really was. His eyes closed and it wasn't long before he was asleep.

"Good, now I can get some sleep as well," Isa said sitting on the bed next to Riku. She finally looked around. They were in what looked like a recreation room with beds put in it for Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. It was a big room with plenty of seating area, and judging by the fact that there were no windows and stairs going to what looked to be the main living area, she guessed that it must have been the basement. _'If the basement is this big, the house must be huge.'_ She thought before lying down.

"What does his parents do to afford this kind of stuff?" she asked no one in particular.

Sora answered her question, "His mom owns a big real estate company. She works on the computer and post the pictures and information on the internet while keeping up with the records. His dad owns a car company. He knows a lot about cars and can make you a good deal."

"I'm guessing Riku has a pretty good car because of this."

"Yes and no. Riku doesn't take advantage of his parents money like most kids would. He hardly ask for anything and when he does, it's something small."

"So why is it yes and no?"

"When he got his drivers license, he needed a car to drive. He was going to work for Mat, who owns the seaside boat shop, until he could afford his own. His dad surprised him though. He got in a new stock of cars not long after we got back and he notice how Riku looked at one of them. The day after Riku got his license he found the car with a red ribbon tied on it in the garage."

"Wow. I wish my dad would do something like that," she said before realizing it. They all gave her a weird look. "Uh, I meant to say I wish I _had_ a dad that would do something like that." They seemed to buy it and the subject was dropped.

"You do look tired," Kairi said with a worried look on her face. "I think we should all leave these two alone for now. Let them get some rest and we'll come back later."

"Okay," everyone agreed.

"Bye everybody. See ya later."

"Bye Isa."

Isa closed her eyes and found it amazingly hard to sleep. There was a song Riku had been humming while he was holding her earlier. She replayed it in her mind and fell asleep to the sound of his voice.

_"Finally, I thought you were never going to go to sleep," Riku greeted her._

_"I did just wake up not too long ago," Isa countered._

_"Well, I was starting to get lonely. I've gotten so used to you being here when I sleep."_

_"I may not always be able to sleep whenever you do."_

_"Yeah, I know. Hey, are you changing the scenery?"_

_"No, I still see Destiny Island. You aren't having that dream again, are you?"_

_"I hope not. Isa, your presence is starting to fade," Riku said calmly. The first time this happened it had freaked him out a bit. Now he was used to it._

_"Riku, you need to remember, it's just a dream," she said helping the best she could._

_"Easy for you to say," he replied before their connection completely disappeared.

* * *

_

_Riku found himself back on that same dark world he had seen so many times. He had never seen the islands look so bad. He had had this dream, more like nightmare, almost every night since Isa had arrived, yet every time he couldn't do anything because his mind wasn't his own anymore._

_A man with dark brown hair and the same stormy blue eyes as Isa, stood in front of him._

_"Good job, Riku. I never would have guessed you would be this strong."_

_"I'm glad you are pleased Namoi."_

_That was different. Before, nothing came out after pleased. His mouth moved but no sound came out._ 'Wait a minute. Did I just say Namoi. I guess I couldn't say it before since I didn't know it.'

_"Now, just a few more people to kill and then we can move on to the next world."_

_He looked to the right. This time was different. Usually he only saw Sora and Kairi and eventually, his body would win the fight and they they would die. Now he saw Sora, Kairi, Roxas, Namine, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and... and... Isa._

'No, I won't hurt her.'_ he thought to himself. His body started moving toward them. All of them had fear in their eyes, except Isa._

_She looked more determined than anything. "Riku," she said, "I know you can hear me. Remember what I taught you. You're better than this."_

_"Shut up girl," Namoi said. "I've still got a little hold on you. Don't make me hurt you."_

_"No," Riku shouted. _'I have control of my body again. How did that happen?'_ He decided to figure that out later. There were more important matters at hand right now. "I won't let you hurt her."_

_"So, you have feelings for this girl. You should stop wasting your time. She doesn't love you back. She can't love anyone like that. I made sure of that when she was born. If she loved you back, it would kill her."_

_"What are you talking about?" Riku said confused. "You can't do something like that."_

_"Oh, yes I can. In fact, I'm the main reason she's so miserable. She could live more if it wasn't for my curse."_

_"Your curse?"_

_"You love me?" Isa asked him interrupting the conversation._

_Riku turned to her. "Yes, more than anything," he finally said after some debating._

_Isa got the brightest light in her eyes, then, she fell._

_"_Isa!_" Riku said running to her. He picked her up and called her name._

_"It's no use boy. She's dead. You made her love you and did the one thing I could never do. It's all your fault."

* * *

_

Author's Note: Sorry it took longer. Got past, the new story have to post as soon as possible, phase. Again, I thank everyone. You are a real inspiration to me. I want to thank **black_maple_tree** for her review. Reviews are always welcome, and I hope to update as soon as possible._  
_


	10. Chapter 9: Haircut

Chapter 9: Haircut

Rojer decided to walk to Kingdom Hearts. He wanted some time to think about things. He could have done that at the mansion, but it was hard to think with Rach around.

"Rojer," a female voice called behind him.

Rojer turned around and was surprised to see Natasha running up to him.

"Natasha, what do you want?" he asked bored.

"I was wandering if you would go out with me."

"You have a boyfriend," he replied not even wanting to go there.

"I meant like to the mall or something. Just as a friend, nothing more," she explained expertly.

"I would, Natasha, but I have stuff to take care of right now."

"Awww, come on. It's not that important is it?"

"To you, no. To me, yes, so if you'll kindly excuse me..."

She stepped in front of him. "Sorry, but I can't do that. You're coming with me whether you want to or not."

"Hey, Rojer you left your..." Rach was saying while running up the trail. "Hey what's going on."

"S-, I guess I'll just have to take both of you. Namoi is going to be mad."

"What did you just say?" Rojer asked seriously.

"I said Na-mo-i," she said as she brought a gun out and pointed it at Rach. "I'm stronger than her so she's not a problem. You on the other hand, I have to admit you are stronger than me. I know... you have to come or I'll kill _her_." She cocked the gun and pulled the trigger back just a little.

Rojer looked at her, then at Rach. She looked so scared. He didn't really want to confront his father right now, but he couldn't lose her. "Alright, I'll come."

"Good. If you tell Mrs. Pensingtun about me, I'll kill both of you." She opened a black portal and grabbed onto Rach. "Go," she ordered Rojer.

He obeyed and started walking towards the portal. Just before he got there, he grabbed the gun and pointed it at the sky so it wouldn't be pointed at Rach's head, should it go off. Then, he used his other hand to punch Natasha in the stomach so she would lose her grip on Rach. "Rach, open a portal."

"I can't do that," she said. Black keepers didn't learn all the stuff the others did. One of those things being how to travel through the realms.

"It's easy," Rojer encouraged her while holding Natasha back. "All you have to do is focus your light to your hand, then bring it in front of you and out into a portal."

She did as she was told and was surprised to see a glowing white portal in front of her. Rojer pushed her through. He got Natasha on the ground and pulled the gun out of her hand and threw it out of good reaching distance. He then ran for the portal.

Natasha got up and ran for the gun. When she turned around, Rojer had just ran through the portal. She pointed the gun and shot. She didn't know if she would hit anything and didn't care. He had probably broken some of her ribs and she was out to kill.

* * *

When Rach got through the portal, she turned around. She didn't know how long she would be able to hold the portal open. Before she went through it didn't matter, the portal stayed open itself. Now that she was on the other side, it was a whole new matter. Luckily Rojer came through the portal in no time. He also tackled her to the ground while he was at it. A bullet went flying overhead and hit the wall before the portal closed.

"Rojer, thanks for saving me, but it's hard to breath with you on top of me," came her muffled voice from under him.

"Oh, sorry," he said getting up before helping her to her feet.

They looked around. They were in some sort of huge entertainment room. There were three beds set up and two of them were occupied. One had a boy on it that looked to be around their age. He had gauze around his stomach and was sound asleep. He moved around a lot. He had silver hair and was pretty muscular. On the other bed was...

"Isa?" they said when they saw her.

"Rach, what were you thinking of when you made that portal?" Rojer asked.

"I was thinking of Isa. Why?"

"Because, you have to think of the place, or in this case person, that you want to teleport to when creating a portal and it will take you there."

"Oh... Why don't you use portals to transport to other worlds instead of flying? Wouldn't that be faster?"

"Yes, but it would normally kill a person. I don't know how you were able to do that."

"I don't know either. That was the first time I've ever even used a portal. I mean, I feel a little drained, but other than that I feel fine. How..."

She was interrupted when the boy shot up with sweat covering his face. She just now noticed how worn he looked.

"I'm guessing you must be Riku, right?" Rojer asked.

"Yeah," he said snapping his head toward them and gave them a look that said they didn't belong there. "Who are you?" he asked a little guardedly.

"I'm Rojer and this is Rach. We..." he started but decided it best not to say much till he knew more about this Riku. He was a keyblade bearer, but was he trustworthy.

"You're Isa's brother, right?"

"Yeah. Wait, she lets you call her that?" he asked, surprised that she would trust him so quickly.

"Yeah... I'm not sure why she trust me so much, but she does."

"If Isa is able to trust you, then I guess I can too."

"Now that you two have stopped glaring each other down," Rach said, "can we get some kind of explanation?"

"Maybe you should explain why you're here first," Riku told them. He was not willing to let out any info until he knew exactly why they were there.

"Riku who are you..." Isa was finally awake. "Rach, Rojer, what are you two doing here?"

"Well..." Rach began. "Nata was to kill and we had get away and..."

"Rach," Isa interrupted.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I can't understand you when you talk so fast, and I really hate slowing you down, but could you possibly talk any slower than that and it would be nice if you could start from the very beginning."

_'And Sora thought Kairi and Namine were hard to follow. They're nothing compared to her.'_ Riku thought silently to himself. He only caught a few of the words himself, and he was an expert at it.

Rach took a deep breath and started over. She told the whole story starting from Riku's letter. Isa redid Riku's gauze while she explained. Rojer summoned up a shirt for him to wear. _'He might not be so bad after all.'_ Riku thought to himself.

* * *

It was five by the time she got done.

"Wow, I didn't think I could talk that long. No wander Mrs. Pensington gets annoyed with me so much."

"Speaking of Mrs. Pensingtun," Rojer spoke for the first time in several hours, "Isa, we still don't know why you're here."

"I'll explain it later, right now I'm really hungry," she said with a grumbling stomach.

"You haven't eaten in a week," Riku suddenly remembered, "I should have thought of that first. I am so sorry."

"Don't apologize. I've gone a month without eating before. It's nothing new to me," she said looking down at herself. "I think I need a different outfit so your parents stay standing whenever I go upstairs. Also, I need to give you a quick haircut," she said, to Riku's surprise. She changed into some jeans that flared at the bottom and a red cutoff denim shirt that showed her belly. She put converses on her feet and kept the necklace and bracelet.

"Why? Does it look like I need a haircut?" Riku asked starting to get off the bed in case he needed to run.

"No, no Mickey told your parents that a friend was giving you a killer haircut and wanted it to be a surprise," she explained happily.

"I'm going to kill him."

"What was that?" she asked him.

"Uh, I said how short are you going to cut it?"

"You'll see, don't worry. Everything will be fine."

"Yeah, easy for you to say."

She got to work on his hair and before long was finished. She gave Riku a mirror so he could see her handiwork. He was surprised. She did an amazing job. It was still long like he liked, but it looked amazing. The only thing he had much of a problem with was his bangs.

"It was your mom's suggestion," Isa said when he pointed to his bangs which now hung just below his eyebrows, not in the ugly strait cut but with the sides a bit longer. He was still able to push them to the side like he normally did.

"I would complain, but it looks so amazing," Riku said surprisingly liking that he could, more clearly, see his aquamarine eyes.

"Riku, Isa, I don't know how much longer we can hold them off," came Sora's voice from the living room.

Isa yelled, "Be up in a sec."

Riku thought he heard his mom say, "His new friend is a girl?" He chuckled lightly. His mom had always wanted him to find a girl that would make a good girlfriend. Isa was good, but was his dream true. If so, he was too scared to take any risk with her. He felt Isa pulling his arm.

"Come on Riku."

He walked into his living room and was rewarded with many gasps and then applause.

"What took so long?" his dad asked with good reason. They had been down there awhile. He couldn't think of anything.

Isa had already thought of something if somebody should happen to ask that question. "Me and Riku argued over what I was going to do to his hair a lot. Then, it took forever because he wouldn't sit still." It was a complete lie, but if they had actually had that much time, it probably would have been true. Everyone laughed at the thought.

"Wow, Riku," his mom said coming up and hugging him. "I guess you were right. Boys can have long hair and still look handsome."

Isa had done even better than he thought if both him _and_ his mom agreed that his hair looked great. He was amazed. _'She is very talented. I wander what else she can do?'_

This was the first time Isa had seen Riku's parents. His mom had silver hair that went right below her ears and amazing chocolate brown eyes. His dad had short, light blond hair and aquamarine eyes. It was easy to see who Riku got those traits from.

"Riku," his mom said glowing, "why don't you introduce us to your new friend?"

"Oh, Mom, Dad, this is Isabella. Isabella, these are my parents," he introduced them expertly.

"It's nice to meet you..." Isa began. She didn't know what to call them.

"You can just call me by my name, honey. It's Teresa," Riku's mom chimed.

"My name is Patrick," Riku's dad said.

"Okay. It's nice to meet you Teresa and Patrick," Isa said pleased. They were nice people.

"It's nice to meet you, too," they both said.

"Isa's hungry. Can I go make her some food?" Riku asked his parents.

"It is time for super anyways," his mom said knowingly, " so why don't you just fix us all something."

"I'll tell you when it's ready," he said while leaving the room.

Isa watched as he left. _'Riku can cook? You don't find many guys that can do that.'_ She loved to cook herself. She also loved a good challenge. She hadn't had a cook off in a while. "I'm going to go help."

"You don't have to do that dear. Riku is a great cook," his mom informed her.

"I don't doubt that he is. I just want to see if he can cook better than me," she explained.

"Uh oh," Rach and Rojer said being noticed for the first time.

"Are you two new friends of Riku's as well?" Teresa asked them.

"Uh, yeah. We were told to stay down there so you could meet us when you met Isa," Rojer explained wittily. "I'm Rojer, Isa's brother, and this is Rach. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, too," Teresa said before turning to Isa. "Honey, I have a question. I noticed that they call you Isa. What would you like me to call you?"

"It doesn't matter to me. You can call me whichever," she said.

"Okay, I think I'll just stick to Isabella. It's such a pretty name," Teresa said.

"Okay, well I'm going to go to the kitchen now," she said before heading in the same direction as Riku.

"Why did you two say 'Uh oh' a minute ago?" Sora asked the question on everybody's mind.

"Oh," Rach said, "Isa and Rojer love to have cook offs..." she said, stopping herself before she accidentally said something that would give them away. "Whenever they are done, there is usually too much for the three of us to eat, so we have to find more people to eat with us. Isa has always loved a good challenge."

This made Patrick a bit worried. "You two make sure you don't completely clean the kitchen out," he called. He knew his son, and he was the same way.

Sora got up and headed towards the kitchen followed by the others. They wanted to see this. Riku loved a challenge just as much as, if not more than, the next person. From the sound of it, Isa did too. When they got to the kitchen, Isa was explaining the rules.

"... and the first one done with all the dishes and has satisfied the judges is the winner," she finished.

"Who are the judges?" Rach asked knowing that Isa would pick out of them.

"Let's see," she said thinking about it for a little while. "Roxas, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and..." she couldn't seem to think of a fifth person.

"Tina," Riku blurted out.

"Who?" Isa asked confused.

"That's just like you Riku. You'll introduce her to your parents, but not your favorite maid. I see how you are," the blue-haired maid said coming into the kitchen right on cue.

"Sorry Tina, but I was in the middle of showing off my new haircut. Tina, this is Isa...bella. Isabella, this is Tina, our maid."

"It's nice to meet you Isabella," Tina said holding out her hand and giving Riku a death glare.

Isa took it and greeted the maid, "It's nice to meet you, too. You can call me Isa if you want."

"Okay, Isa."

"So is every thing ready?" Rach interrupted, getting them back on track. She was used to being the officiator of the cook offs. After she got a nod from the judges and cooks she began the countdown. "Three... two... one...GO!"

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry it took so long. I have been busy getting ready for school and doing other stuff. It's been hard to get in any writing time. I also wasn't completely thrilled with this chapter, I'm still not, so it took longer to write. I tried not to change Riku's hair too much because it is awesome. Please review. I'll be inspired to update faster if you do. Also, I really need to know if I should make the next chapter the cook off, or if I should write about Namoi or Mrs. Pensingtun. Please review. I still thank all of the readers, favers, and alerters. You guys are what make me keep writing. Tell me what you think, send me ideas, all it takes is a press of the button at the bottom of this page. Sorry if it seems like I'm begging. I just really need reviews to get some spark going.


	11. Chapter 10: The Cook Off

Chapter 10: The Cook Off

Riku and Isa got all their supplies ready for the cook-off and started to cook. They started with the salad. Everyone was watching Isa. She was tossing knives around while she cut her vegetables. It was like watching a professional on T.V. Riku finally realized how much he was falling behind. Even without all the fancy throwing he still wasn't nearly as fast as she was. _'I'm going to lose terribly.' _he thought to himself.

They continued with beef stew,fried potatoes, rolls, and a dessert. Isa always finished before Riku, but she waited for him to get done to go to the next dish. They each picked what dessert they wanted to make. Riku chose to make a peach cobbler, and Isa picked strawberry cheesecake. Riku had the advantage here. Peach cobbler was simpler and easier to make. He went as fast as possible to hopefully beat Isa this time. When the timer went off he set his cobbler on the table at the same time Isa put her cake on the table. He was so proud of himself.

Isa looked over at Riku. He had the biggest smile on his face. She was really impressed. She hadn't held back at all. _'Now, time to see if his food taste good.'_ She headed over to his station. "I guess we should let the judges try our food now."

Riku nodded. He looked to where they were standing. Well, where most of them were standing. Where was Sora? He looked at the floor and saw Sora sleeping. He rolled his eyes.

Rach saw what Riku was looking at and went over and gave Sora a good kick in the ribs.

"It wasn't me, I swear!" Sora yelped as he got up. He looked around and turned red.

"What was that about?" Roxas asked next to him.

"Um... Well, I was dreaming about Isa's amazing looking stew and in the process of trying to steal a bite, I knocked the whole pot over," he explained with a guilty look.

Everyone burst into laughter. Isa came over and patted him on the back. "It's okay, Sora. That would never happen anyway. I have a special force field around it that would have shocked you had you really tried that."

Sora paled as Isa walked back to where Riku stood. "Do you really have a force field around your food?"

"No, but now he won't even think of coming near my food again," Isa admitted earning a good laugh from Riku.

Rach, being the orchestrator, decided tho get the show on the road. "Chefs, are you ready to be judged?"

Riku and Isa looked at each other and smiled. "Yes, we are ready," they answered.

Judges, take you places," Rach looked toward the judges.

Tina, Sora, Roxas, Donald, and Goofy took their seats in front of their assigned plates on the table.

"I vote for Isa," Sora said when he sat down.

"Sora, we haven't even given you food yet," Isa told him.

"I know, but you were so entertaining," he explained.

"Sora?" Riku said exasperated.

"Yes?"

"What part of "you are judging the food and not the other skills of the chef' did you miss?" he asked.

"I don't remember that," he stated with an innocent look.

"Obviously," Rach put in. "I was trying to explain the judging rules to you as you were falling asleep."

"Oh, can you repeat them?"

"Sora!" everyone exclaimed.

The others found something to do while Rach explained the rules to Sora. Isa and Riku commented on their work. Rojer found the bathroom after thirty minutes of searching. Even with the directions Patrick gave him, he still got lost in the big house. Roxas and Namine disappeared to somewhere. Tina, Kairi, and Teresa talked about Halloween, which was coming up very soon, and Patrick talked to Mickey, Donald, and Goofy about their adventures.

After a while, Rach finally got done telling, then explaining, the rules to Sora. "Okay, before we start, is everybody ready?"

Rojer's voice came from up stairs, "Can somebody help me get back to the kitchen?"

Everybody started laughing as Patrick headed up the stairs. "We live in a mansion. You think he would be able to find his way." Isa commented.

"Isa, shut up. You would probably get lost in this house, too," Rojer retaliated as Patrick led him down the stairs.

"You two are finally acting like brother and sister again," Rach put in, glad things were back to normal.

"Are they like this all the time?" Sora asked curious.

"No, but it's really funny when the do act like this. It is hilarious. You should see them wrestle sometime," she explained excitedly.

"Do they really get that rowdy?" Teresa asked like a worried mother would.

"Oh, yeah. They go all out and completely attack each other," Rach said sarcastically.

Isa smacked her. "We do wrestle sometimes, but it's just for fun. We don't really hurt each other."

"If you were my kids..." Teresa began the perfect mother act.

"Mom, me and Sora wrestle all the time, and you've never said anything about that," Riku stopped his mother.

"Yes, but she's a..." she began again.

"Don't start with the whole girl subject either," Kairi interrupted this time. "Selphie and I fight with the boys all the time."

Teresa sighed in defeat.

"Can we get on with the competition?" Sora complained. "I'm hungry."

"Alright, judges, take your places. Chefs, get out your spoons and ladles," Rach ordered everyone. "It is time to see who the best chef really is."

Riku and Isa served their food. Each judge got half a serving of every food from each chef.

While the judges ate, the others got whatever they wanted. Riku and Isa got some food from both sides to compare.

Isa was glad to finally eat. She had been so hungry. She tried all of her stuff first. It was good, as always. When she tried Riku's, she was impressed. His food was equal to her's. It tasted different than what she was used to, but it was still amazing.

Riku did the same as Isa. He thought her food tasted great. She was a great cook, even with all the tricks and everything. He had already noticed the difference in the spices and food they put into their food. He had still had some hope because she put some stuff together that he would never put together, but it really just made it that much better.

Rach interrupted everyone. "The judges have come to a conclusion. After some thought and consideration, they have decided, just by chance of desert choice, that..." she gave a long pause.

"Spit it out already, Rach. If you don't, Sora looks like he might beat you to it," Rojer told her.

"Isa is the winner of the competition," Rach finally told them with excitement.

"Isa's cheesecake was phenomenal," Sora said. He looked like he would have burst if he hadn't have gotten that out.

Isa and Riku walked to each other and shook hands. "I might have won, but you really are a great cook, Riku," Isa complimented him.

"Thanks, Isa. You cook really well yourself. I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I really am glad you won," he said surprised. He was usually a sore loser, but he actually didn't mind losing to Isa.

When Rojer saw that they were done, he went up to Isa and asked her to go outside with him.

"What do you want?" Isa said wanting to go back inside and talk with the others.

"Well, I was going to ask if you had found a place to stay yet, but I see you don't really care about what I think at the moment," Rojer snapped back.

"I'm sorry," she said not meaning to upset him. "I just really wanted to stay inside and hang out with them."

"You mean 'I wanted to stay inside so I could drool over Riku some more,'" he said.

"That's not true. Why do you dislike him so much?" Isa asked her brother.

"It's not that I dislike him," he stated.

"Then what is all the hatred towards him for?" she asked a little confused.

"You know just as well as I do what will happen if he confesses his love for you," Rojer explained.

"He doesn't love me. He already has somebody else," Isa shouted at him.

"Calm down. Whether that is the case or not, I still think he needs to be warned," Rojer told her.

"Rojer please no. I don't want that stupid curse to come between our friendship," Isa pleaded with him.

"Your steadily growing friendship. At this rate he'll be professing his love to you by the end of the week," Rojer said angrily.

"That is not true. He could never..." Isa was cut off by the patio door opening.

"Is everything alright out here children?" Teresa asked worried.

"Yeah, everything is fine," Rojer answered.

"I couldn't stop thinking about something earlier. I don't mean to intrude, but... do your parents really let you wrestle like that?" She asked trying not to sound intrusive.

"Actually, our parents..." Rojer began.

"Our mother died when we were young. We live with our grandparents now because our dad is in jail," Isa finished not wanting Teresa to have to deal with this even though, for some unfathomable reason, she trusted Riku's loving mother.

_'So she's doesn't want me to know,'_ Roxy thought. "I'm sorry. I didn't know." she said switching back to her role as Riku's innocent mother who knew nothing.

"It's okay. I didn't tell you till now, so there was no way for you to know," Isa said soothingly.

_'She is so much like her mother,'_ Roxy couldn't help but notice the similarity in personality between Catrina and her daughter. "Wow, you are so much like her."

"Who?" Isa asked.

"Hm, nobody," Teresa said mentally kicking herself for slipping up. Teresa then noticed the tears at the edges of Isabella's eyes. "Is everything okay, hon?"

"Yeah, I just miss my mom," Isa explained wiping away the tears in her eyes.

"Rojer, could you go inside with the others?" Teresa asked.

"Um, sure," he replied then headed back through the door.

"Why did you send..." Isa began before being cut off by a tight hug from Teresa.

"I know it must have been hard for you to grow up without a mother's love," Teresa said.

"Yeah, kinda," Isa replied. She really started crying now. She didn't have many memories of her mother, but the ones she did have were great.

Teresa felt Isabella put her head down on her chest. She could feel the younger girl's tremors as she silently sobbed.

"I love you, Mommy," Isa said quietly. This made Teresa gasp.

Roxy had always wanted to have a daughter, but was unable to when a few complications arose. If all she could hope for was a daughter-in-law, especially if it turned out to be the girl in front of her, she would gladly take it.

When Isa finally looked up, she was surprised to see that the older woman's eyes were also puffy and red. They looked at each other a moment and then laughed. Teresa then surprised her again by saying, "Hon, if you ever get the feeling to call me "Mom," feel free to."

"Okay, Mom," Isa said with a smile on her face.

"Is the tear fest over now?" came Rojer's voice from the door.

"Rojer," Isa shouted, "were you watching the whole time?"

"No, I just showed up before you two broke apart. I got tired of listening to them," he pointed behind him to imply everyone else in the house, "and I still need to talk to you."

"I guess I'll leave you two alone for now," Teresa said before heading into the house.

"What was that all about?" Rojer asked coming up to his sister.

"I don't know. She just came up and hugged me and I just started crying. I think something is wrong with me," Isa replied.

"We already knew that," Rojer said earning a smack on the arm from Isa.

"I'm serious. I don't know what is going on. I have been acting weird since I got here," Isa explained.

"I think I know the reason for you to act so weird,' Rojer told her.

"Really?" she said astonished.

"Yeah, he's sitting in there with all his 'silver haired gorgeousness,'" he said using his best girl voice for the last part.

"Oh, shut up. I don't think..." she began but was cut off by her brother's defiant expression. "What?"

"You really can't see it can you?" Rojer asked.

Isa sighed, "I know what you mean and I'm denying it because I know it can't happen, okay?"

"Isa, I don't want to do this to you. You deserve this probably more than anyone I know, but if you fall in love with him and he confesses his love for you, you die. End of story," Rojer explained.

"I know," Isa said with a slightly pouty expression. "He won't let me have any happiness, will he?"

Rojer didn't know what to say to that. The loving father that he had known was not the same anymore, and Isa had never know him when he was like that. As far as he could tell, Isa's statement was true.

"I don't know what he plans, but I do know what he has already done. I can't change the curse, so I am trying to make sure the end of it does not come to fruition. I want you to be happy, but I'm not going to let you get hurt," Rojer explained.

Just then Teresa called them into the house. Isa headed towards the door, but Rojer grabbed her arm.

"I am going to have a talk with Riku. You may not like it, but as your big brother, I bring it upon myself to protect you," he said hopping she wouldn't be too mad.

"I understand Rojer. I just ask that you don't scare him too much," she said before releasing her arm and walking inside.

"This is about to get very interesting."

* * *

Author's Note: I'm finally back. I'm sorry for the really, really long wait. I got internet back about a month ago but couldn't update because school was so hectic. I have written up to chapter twenty-three. I have to do some editing as I go, but hopefully that will speed things up a bit. I know that the whole switching from Roxy to Teresa is confusing, but it will make sense soon enough. I showed this to a friend, and our stories fit so well together that we decided to collaborate them. I hope that this won't make things too confusing for anyone. I'm glad to be back. I want to thank all my faithful readers who have very patiently waited for me to update again. I hope this chapter was everything you were waiting for.


	12. Chapter 11: Roxy

Chapter 11: Roxy

Teresa decided to have everyone stay at her house that night. Since Halloween was approaching, she put on some scary movies. She made popcorn and even got out her secret stash of candy for them.

Roxas and Namine stole the love seat before Sora and Kairi could get there. Isa sat on the couch with her legs and feet taking up the length of it. With the two chairs being taken by Rojer and Rach, and most of the floor being taken up by a sprawled out Sora and Kairi, Riku had the dilemma of not knowing where to sit. He finally decided that the couch was the only possible choice. He lifted up Isa's feet, sat down, and gently laid her feet in his lap.

"You could have asked me to move my feet," Isa told him.

"You looked comfy, and I didn't want to disturb you," he replied.

"Isa," Kairi's voice came from the floor, "he's just trying to seduce you so he'll have a girlfriend for every day of the week."

Riku locked a death look on the back of Kairi's head while everyone else laughed. Well, almost everyone. Rojer's mood just kept getting worse the longer he sat there. He was trying to keep Riku away from his sister, and this was not helping. He could tell that the boy was infatuated with Isa. They were not going to get along.

"Rojer," Rach interrupted his thoughts, "if you keep looking at Riku like that, you might actually kill him."

Rojer knew she was kidding, but he really would appreciate it if the love-sick teen would just disappear. "Riku, could I talk to you?"

Riku headed towards the door without a word. Rojer started to follow, but felt a strong hand grab his arm. He couldn't fathom who would want to stop him. For all anyone knew, he just wanted to have a friendly talk,and Isa had said it was okay. When he turned around to see that the hand was indeed attached to his sister, he wandered what she could be thinking. "Isa, I won't hurt him. I don't have any reason to at the moment." That wasn't completely true but she didn't have to know that.

"Rojer, I know I said this was okay, but..." she began.

* * *

"You can say whatever you want,but I'm going to talk to him no matter what you feel. If I went on your feelings, you'd probably be dead in a few days," Rojer told her harshly before releasing his arm and following Riku.

Isa was not afraid of Rojer hurting Riku. From what she had learned earlier, Riku could probably beat him fairly easily. No, that did not bother her. What did worry her, however, was the prospect of Riku knowing about the curse. _'If he knows, he might not want to be too close to me. That would definitely slow down his training. Maybe I should ask Mickey.'_ She could hear the part of her mind that was saying, _'You love him, and you want him to tell you the same.'_ She was seriously trying to push those thoughts to the back of her head.

"Isa," a voice brought her out of her thoughts.

She looked up to see that it was Namine that had spoke. "Yeah?"

"Do you know what that was all about?" she asked trying not to sound too curious.

"I think Rojer just wants to chat with him. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," Isa assured everyone, though, she couldn't exactly say who she was trying to reassure more, them or herself.

When Rojer got outside he was expecting to hear angry retorts from the younger boy. He was not expecting what did come out of his mouth. "The curse is real isn't it?"

"How do you know about that?" he asked surprised that Riku brought it up first.

"Your father informed me of it," he simply replied.

"My father? Why would he tell you about the curse? Why were you even near him?" Rojer asked confused by the sudden turn of events.

"I wasn't near him. He showed me in a dream. As for the reason why... My guess is that he is trying to make my life more miserable than it already is," Riku told him.

"What exactly did he show you?" Rojer asked wanting to know if he was talking about the same curse as him.

"I had been having dreams about destroying the islands. They all started with everything being destroyed except for Sora,Kairi, and what was left of the world. I would fight to control myself and lose, and then I'd destroy everything else. This one was different. The dream started off the same, but Mickey and the others were there, and... Isa was with them.

"She encouraged me to take myself back. Namoi told her to be quiet, or he would hurt her. I came back to myself then. He realized that I had feelings for her and told me about the curse. When she realized what we were talking about, she asked me if I loved her. I told 'Yes, more than anything,' and she fell dead to the ground," Riku finally stopped. He was on the verge of smashing his head into something.

"I don't think he explained it exactly, but yes, that is the general idea. If she falls in love with you, and you confess your love for her, whether it be true or not, she will die," Rojer told him. He couldn't understand why his father had done this exactly, but it meant that Riku had already been being careful.

"Thanks for clearing that up," Riku said. He would have to be careful about what he said to Isa from now on.

"You really care for her. I can see that now. If you can figure out some way to break this curse, I will not keep you from my sister. However, if you get her killed, I don't care how it happens, you will feel the pain of my wrath," Rojer said with a scary look on his face.

Before Riku could say anything, Rach and Kairi came out.

"Hey you two, we don't want to have to break up anything," Kairi joked.

"Yeah," Rach chimed, "If you two start fighting, we might have to show our true colors."

Rojer and Riku started to laugh. They could just picture what would happen if they showed their true colors. "You two couldn't hurt a fly," Rojer informed them.

"I hurt Sora all the time," Kairi replied.

"He's smaller than a fly," Riku simply stated.

"Am not," Sora said coming out to defend himself. They all laughed. " Why do you always make fun of me?"

"Because, either one, it's true, or two, your reaction always makes it better," Riku explained to him.

"Well, I don't like it," Sora said.

"Sora," Kairi said, "We only do it because we like you."

"Oh, okay," he replied.

Riku would have said something but didn't want to risk of hurting his feelings.

"Why don't we head back inside?" Rach suggested.

They all agreed and headed back in. When they got there, Isa was missing. "Where's Isa," asked Rojer.

"She said she needed to go do some things really quick," Namine answered.

"What could she possibly do at this time of night?" Sora wandered aloud.

"I think she went to go find a house," Rojer suggested.

"Why would she do that?" Riku asked a little worried.

"I asked her about it earlier. She probably hasn't had time to even think about it, but now that I brought it up, she'll want to make sure and find one," Rojer explained gravely.

"Why would she go now, though?" Kairi asked this time.

Mickey answered, "She probably needed some time to be alone. When she was at the castle, she'd take long walks in the garden at night. When I asked she said she could think better in the darkness."

"She can't buy anything right now," Teresa said coming into the living room.

"Mom, I thought you'd be in bed by now," Riku said surprised that she would still be awake.

"And if I'm not mistaken, she said that they were living with their grandparents," Teresa replied getting worried looks.

"Well... We wanted..." Rojer stammered trying to think of a good excuse. Then a thought came to him. "Roxy?"

"Glad you finally recognized me," Roxy said joyful to hear her real name.

"You know my mom?" Riku asked starting to become confused despite his ability to follow most situations.

"Riku, you know how Bella and her sister have always been good friends of mine, right?" Roxy asked her son referring to Sora's mom Bella.

"Yes, you've told me the story many times," he replied.

"I left out a few key parts of that story."

"Like what?" Riku asked a little annoyed.

"Like the fact that Bella's sister is dead for starters. Second I never told you the importance of their father. However, that is something she must explain," Roxy told them.

"Okay, so what does that have to do with Rojer?" Riku asked still not understanding where this conversation was going.

Sora joined the conversation, " We are still talking about my mom, right?"

"Yes, Sora. There is so much to explain," Roxy now looked like she had a headache. "Let me talk with Bella and we'll discuss this later," she finished definitely while heading up the stairs.

"Did anyone get any of that?" Rach asked more confused than anybody, even Sora.

"I think we need to keep this to ourselves," Rojer said. "I don't think Mom wanted Isa to know about all this yet."

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry it took so long. I've been kind of busy. I also haven't felt like working on my story lately. I don't know why. I would like to thank all the readers, favers, alerters, and so on. I'll try to work harder to get the chapters out.


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